Inherent ViceA concrete material throughout the course of the movie with more than enough content to feed the audience even for 148 minutes, is a script that does not come often onto Paul's table for it is completely a plot driven movie. Inherent Vice has a lot to offer, complex plots and sub-plots, amusing verbal sparring and eerie characters but it takes a lot of homework to bind them all and project it onto the screen which is accomplished in here for the most part of the movie. Paul Thomas Anderson's seventh installment is admirable and plausible in context of art but doesn't demand attention of the viewers which may come off as a bit downer considering there is a lot to intake. Joaquin Phoenix is the key that glues each and every character and sequences in this overlong drive and he pulls it off with the help of a great supporting cast like Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston and Owen Wilson. Inherent Vise is witty but low on drama, has reasonable content but lacks gripping screenplay and has stellar performances but contains lots of bumps down the road.

It must have seemed like a good idea to translate 1940s noir to the 1970s, replacing Marlowe and his quart of Old Forester with Doc and his quarter of Red Leb. And in the right hands it might have worked. Sadly it doesn't work here. The film has its moments, but a lot of the devices are too literary to work on the screen. The characters aren't interesting or engaging and there just isn't enough entertainment in the moment by moment unfolding of the plot.At the end of the film the problem is not so much that you don't know what happened as that you don't care.

The movie itself was not incredible, but the main character was nicely designed, with unpredictable behavior and feelings stronger than they seem. The other characters all had their unique parts, but they were all made so that Doc's personality would stand out. The funny part was its similarity with a film noir, but I do not intend to give spoilers

This movie is a convoluted mess, I can't even explain what the story line is. Phoenix is in every scene, never sitting up normally, always lying down, or sprawled on the floor after a pummeling, and constantly smoking weed, and there's the annoying voice over. If you like David Lynch movies then this movie is for you. Don't try to make sense of it, just marvel that someone would waste their time trying to adapt it from a book that is ranked No. 32,833 on Amazon. It rambles on so much that you will completely forget what the main plot is supposed to be. Case in point: There are 110 cast members listed in the credits, I defy anyone to recall what was said by any one of them, and more importantly how they contributed to the plot. The budget was $20 million, small in comparison to the typical Hollywood film and the opening weekend was an abysmal $328,000, word of mouth certainly worked in this case. Save yourself the cost of renting it and just have someone you really don't care for explain the plot to you, in depth, so you can have another reason to dislike that person even more.