Following the news that Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice will be skipping the Cannes Film Festival, eager fans of Anderson’s work are looking for a first shot to catch his latest starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Audiences are still months away from seeing Anderson’s Inherent Vice in theatres, but Anderson has been in the editing booth long enough for a rough cut to be shown off. An early test screening offered some first impressions, and thanks to an anonymous attendee of the event, we have an idea of what to look forward to. For those unfamiliar with the Thomas Pynchon novel, Inherent Vice follows Larry “Doc” Sportello (Phoenix), a pot-smoking detective working on a kidnapping case at the behest of an ex-lover during the 1970s in Los Angeles.
Mix together The Big Lebowski and Altman‘s The Long Goodbye, turn it into a two-and-a-half hour PT Anderson epic and you’re getting close to the awesome experience of Inherent Vice. Even Joaquin Phoenix‘s performance has echoes of 70′s Elliot Gould with a touch of The Dude. But don’t get me wrong, this film is its own animal. A drug-fueled detective story filled with great psychedelic music and beautiful, grainy cinematography, it’s both hilarious and confounding at times. But Anderson does an incredible job of making the incredibly complex plot both comprehensible and entertaining. Even though he’s apparently said he’s still tinkering, it felt like a finished film and will definitely go down as one of my favorites of his.
Inherent Vice sits right on top my most anticipated films of 2014 list and after watching what Anderson did with Phoenix in 2012’s The Master, I can’t wait to see his take on the psychedelic 70s. The A-list ensemble cast is sure to draw some kind of award attention and with the backing of Megan Ellison’s AnnaPurna Pictures, the sky is the limit for Vice.
The film also stars Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Benicio del Toro, Martin Short, Jena Malone, and James Brolin.
Inherent Vice hits theatres December 12th, 2014.
Source: The Film Stage
3 thoughts on “First Reaction to “Inherent Vice” Hits the Web”
Let’s see. A new P.T. Anderson film that mixes Altman with the Coens that stars Joaquin Phoenix with a supporting performance by Jena Malone aka THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!! I’m in!
This winter is going to offer a great deal of riches (Inherent Vice, Interstellar, Birdman)
INDEED!!!!