Inherent Vice (2015)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Inherent Vice may prove frustrating for viewers who demand absolute coherence, but it does justice to its acclaimed source material -- and should satisfy fans of director P.T. Anderson.
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Cast
as Larry "Doc" Sportello
as Lt. Det. Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen
as Coy Harlingen
as Shasta Fay Hepworth
as Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball
as Sauncho Smilax
as Hope Harlingen
as Petunia Leeway
as Michael Z. Wolfmann
as Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd
as Japonica Fenway
as Sortilège
as Denis
as Ensenada Slim
as Aunt Reet
as Sloane Wolfmann
as Dr. Buddy Tubeside
as Tariq Khalil
as Jade
as Bambi
as Glen Charlock
as News Reporter
as Amethyst Harlingen
as Luz
as Riggs Warbling
as Cop With Bigfoot
as Agent Flatweed
as Agent Borderline
as Burke Stodger
as Chlorinda
as The Boards
as Smedley
as Clancy Charlock
as Howdy Dopers Phone Voice
as Xandra
as LAPD Officer #1
as LAPD Officer #2
as Bigfoot's Kid
as Japanese Cook
as Dr. Threeply
as Crocker Fenway
as Dr. Threeply's Assistant #2
as Kimberly
as Dr. Igor
as Puck Beaverton
as Mrs. Chastity Bjornsen
as Rhus Frothingham
as Adrian Prussia
as Adrian Prussia's Secretary
as Golden Fang Mother
as Golden Fang Daughter
as Goldan Fang Son
as Buddhist Monk
as Bodhi
as Zinnia
News & Interviews for Inherent Vice
Critic Reviews for Inherent Vice
All Critics (230) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (168) | Rotten (62) | DVD (4)
If the adaptation's a little too faithful to sustain a cinematically tight story, there's still a lot to admire in the sheer, uninhibited folly of the whole thing, the gall to get groovy while the Oscar-watchers are on high alert.
Anderson moves further from conventional storytelling with each new film, and closer to something more intuitive, more damning, more true. He hasn't made it there yet. God help us when he does.
Some storylines conclude, some collide, others dissipate. But the film's main crime is this: It's boring.
Joaquin Phoenix is perfectly cast as the perpetually befuddled Doc, a private detective of sorts who immerses himself in pot in the Los Angeles of 1970.
Although it's not as hermetic and impenetrable as The Master, Inherent Vice still comes off as a giant inside joke to anyone who hasn't read Pynchon's novel.
Inherent Vice is a sun-glared, neon-limned muddle of noir plotline and potheaded jokery that not only doesn't make sense, but actually seems to try hard not to.
Audience Reviews for Inherent Vice
Wants to be quirky and funny, but is mostly rather boring with a few amusing scenes. The druggy P.I.'s case is confusing and ultimately not particularly satisfying. At least a lot of stars move around in the picture, but even their good performances create very few memorable scenes or a coherent plot. Waterston sticks out with her performance, though.
Super Reviewer
The plot is overlong, extremely intricate - convoluted would be the exact word - and has way too many characters, but still this trippy private eye crime-comedy compensates for its flaws with a delicious, groovy '70s vibe, a great soundtrack and a hilarious dopehead humor.
Super Reviewer
The main problem with adapting Thomas Pynchon is that Pynchon has written some of the most complex, trippy prose that has ever existed. Just reading his short story "Entropy" will confuse and educate you on the style and tonality of much of Pynchon's work. (Though that story includes aliens) A great way that Paul Thomas Anderson incorporates the madness and frivolity of Pynchon's words is having a narrator to spout it off constantly. Read more at http://www.bluefairyblog.com/oscarseries/2015/4/8/inherent-vice
Super Reviewer
Inherent Vice Quotes
| Lt. Det. Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen: | 'After a long day of civil rights violations' |
| Lt. Det. Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen: | After a long day of civil rights violations. |