Without
question, the Thomas Pynchon character that most persistently arouses reader
fascination is Pynchon himself. Already, we are seeing reports Pynchon makes a
brief cameo appearance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of his 2009 mystery
novel (for lack of a more precise term) and attended the New York Film Festival’s
press screening. Of course, it is dashed difficult to verify any of that, since
nobody knows what he looks like. Regardless, Anderson’s Inherent Vice (trailer here) is guaranteed to
be obsessively analyzed and debated after it screened as the Centerpiece of the
52nd New York Film Festival.
A
woman furtively walks into stoner-detective Larry “Doc” Sportello’s beachfront
crash-pad, but this is no lady. She is Shasta Fay Hepworth, the ex-girlfriend
he still carries a torch for. She has need of his professional services, but
would rather their meeting look like an assignation. Currently the kept woman
of real estate mogul Mickey Wolfmann, Hepworth has been approached by his wife
Sloane to co-conspire in a plan to have said sugar daddy committed. Soon
thereafter, Sportello is serendipitously hired by Black Panther Tariq Khalil to
collect a debt owed by Aryan Brother Glen Harlock, who now works as Wolfmann’s
bodyguard.
Unfortunately,
things really get complicated when Sportello is waylaid in brothel, waking up
next to Harlock’s dead body and surrounded by a circle of cops, most inconveniently
including his old nemesis Christian “Bigfoot” Bjornsen. Yes, Inherent is a film that prompts run-on
sentences. It also has more name characters than Gone with the Wind and Berlin
Alexanderplatz combined, nearly all of whom have back-stories. As Sportello
works his vaguely defined case, he crosses paths with a missing musician forced
to be a federal informer, his presumptive widow, a maritime attorney, a sex
worker, the sexpot daughter of a former client, a lethal loan shark, a shady
rehab clinic, multiple G-Men, and the drug-addled Dr. Rudy Blatnoid, DDS,
played by the scene-stealing Martin Short.
If
you can make heads or tails of the plot, you are doing better than Anderson,
but he certainly captures the story’s inherent Pynchon-ness. You have the
liberal supply of nicknames, the obsessive telling of tales, and the ever
deepening but never illuminated mythology (but Pig Bodine is M.I.A.). Anderson
also has a strong sense of the 1970s vibe and attitude, marking something of a
return to his Boogie Nights roots. In
fact, Vice comes across as so of the
era, it ironically feels dated. The frequent but clumsy swipes at Pres. Nixon,
Gov. Reagan, COINTELPRO, and Dirty Harry-style
policing seem rather quaint and nostalgic now that we have the NSA rifling
through our email and social networks.
Inherent certainly works
to an extent, but it represents a triumph of form over substance. Anderson
constantly proves just how much he gets Pynchon, channeling his breakneck
anarchy. Although Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu
is a vastly superior work, they are alike in that every scene of each film has
its own unique significance. In the case of Inherent,
sequence after sequence further deepens the mythology and features their discrete
mini-arcs.
Unfortunately,
the major principals are hard to fully embrace. Doc Sportello was clearly
formulated for maximum likability, but the undeniably gifted Joaquin Phoenix
often looks like he is uncomfortably laboring to let his freak flag fly. Instead,
he makes a broody Lebowski. Frankly, Josh Brolin is even shtickier as Bjornsen,
recycling all the worst elements of his turns in Men in Black III, W., and Gangster
Squad. Fortunately, there is a rich feast of colorful supporting
performances to keep things lively, including memorable contributions from
Short, Jena Malone, Owen Wilson, Eric Roberts, Hong Chau, Bernicio Del Toro,
and Serena Scott Thomas.
Considering how much works in Inherent, it is frustrating that the
parts do snap together into a more satisfying whole. The period details crafted
by the production design team are spot on and cinematographer Robert Elswit bathes
it all in a noir Chinatown glow. At
times, Thomas’s approach is inspired, particularly his narration, but key on-screen
personnel do not always best serve the film’s interests. Recommended for
Pynchon fans and those who appreciate self-consciously intricate noirs, Inherent Vice opens December 12th,
following its premiere as the Centerpiece of this year’s NYFF.
