Inherent Vice Review

Inherent Vice is a film with great performances, an amazing sense of atmosphere and period piece immersion, and a few noteworthy hilarious scenes. Sadly, as much as I would love to end the review there on a positive note, there's a glaring issue that simply cannot be ignored here. My issue comes with its narrative and overall entertainment value. For one thing, I found myself constantly looking at the time during my viewing which is something that I rarely ever do when enjoying movies. Obviously, I was not as invested into the film as much as I would've liked. The storytelling itself felt either so uninteresting that I couldn't pay much attention to it or so overly stuffed that I eventually decided to give up on keeping track of what's going on. Either way you look at it, there was simply not enough here to keep me engaged in what was going on with these characters without frequently being distracted or exhausted. 

It's such a shame personally for me to say that I found Inherent Vice kinda boring considering that this was one of those surprising trailers that really caught me off guard and hooked me in with its fun and interesting tone. I'm usually not as easily fooled by trailers as much as I used to be back in the day, but I guess every now and then moviegoers need a humbling reminder of the purpose and craftsmanship behind effective movie marketing. Now I'd hate to say that the entire film is a major let down as it truly does deliver in its lead performances via Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin. The latter basically steals every scene that he's in delivering some of the more hilarious moments (especially one particular scene towards the end involving marijuana). That specific scene and Brolin's performance alone should be worth the price of admission as I found myself laughing out louder than I have at a movie in a pretty long time. Sadly, one comedic moment isn't enough to carry the weight of an entire film.

As I mentioned before, you have this flawlessly executed 70's era atmosphere that the film fully embraces which for me was arguably the most captivating thing about the viewing experience. There's few times during my watch where I stopped and thought to myself just how much it felt like I was watching a 70's film which is a testament to the cinematography and editing. Unfortunately, great performances and amazing visual filmmaking can only go so far with a heavy plot that's being dragged along the way by pacing problems. Perhaps a second viewing to fully grasp everything or maybe a little reading into the story behind the film can help fill in some gaps in between, but at this moment, I can really only praise the visuals and performances. I'll also make mention of the soundtrack as it beautifully blended in with the era of Inherent Vice's setting. 

"Under the Paving-Stones, The Beach!" became an instant favorite of mines from the soundtrack as I immediately purchased it right after watching the film.

Overall, Inherent Vice came across to me as a very dull and slowly paced mystery film with a few comedic moments sprinkled in. I honestly couldn't see myself watching it again despite feeling that it's completely necessary to fully appreciate what the film sets out to do. I was simply too bored and frankly a little bit exhausted after watching it once already that I became discouraged in giving it another shot. Who knows? Perhaps in the future I might have a change a heart, watch it again, and praise how brilliant it is and how much of it I missed out on the first time. I've also heard about the book to film adaptation inserting several changes so I am curious if it's an adaptation issue more so than anything else. That's something I might have to look into in the future. As for the film, I say skip it unless you just wanna see the entertaining lead performances. 

Rating: 5/10