Inherent Vice

Well, the trailer is out...



...and it's pretty slick. I'm hoping the film will be enjoyable on its own terms, despite my dreams and hopes (all, inevitably, overblown) due to Pynchon fandom. I have to say, I am not a fan of Anderson or Phoenix, and I thought The Master was garbage (albeit beautifully filmed garbage), but still, maybe this'll take Pynchon mainstream. Heh. Right.

Who is the lady doing the voiceover on the trailer? I hate that voice. Hope she's not in the film.

Now, chances of a sly Pynchon cameo?

 

She's Joanna Newsom and she's going to narrate the film, so I just said good luck. It appears that the guy with the paper bag over his head was on the horn with PTA a lot so's we can expect some revision of the novel. By way of example, Joanna Newsom is playing Sortilège. In the novel Sortilège was Gordita/Manhattan Beach's resident witch/pagan/new age scryess*, saw it all coming, knew it all was gonna happen, could of told you but you'd never believe her anyway, usw. So there's a shift from Pynchon's close third person confused to the more traditional noir first person cynical. You will be hearing an excess of her and the fact that you will is probably TRP's idea.

Odds for a TRP walk-on appear to be high. I'd be on the look-out for a Justin Biber lookalike. Everybody knows that everybody's favorite paranoid is a master of disguise.

The Master must have slipped by you, Philip Seymour Hoffman was spot on as LRH.

*Pynchon has long demonstrated a soft spot for such types, see Geli Tripping from Gravity's Rainbow for more details.

 

This was one of the best books I have read in the past 5 years. The trailer does look pretty slick.

 

Love PTA. Can't wait for this!

 

Looks fantastic.
Lebowskians should take note.
Pynch deserves the take.

 

Hi Robin. Long time no TRP.

Lawks amighty, do we really have to suffer that voiceover? Strike one, for TPA!

It didn't pass me by. Yes, Hoffman was very good, and I liked Amy Adams too (and not just because of the sink scene). But the film was, overall, a mess. as was, dare I say it, There Will Be Blood.

 

"There Will Be Blood" went straight into my top 5 favorite films of all time. I love it. Daniel Plainview is my personal hero. He articulates my own hatred of other people so perfectly.

 

I like Anderson, I like Phoenix, and this looks great. I'm in!

 

Martin Short? No joke - I'm in. Talented guy and I love when multi-talented people known for comedy step into roles with these kinds of directors. Even if it's a small role.

Jerry Lewis with Martin Scorsese, Rodney Dangerfield with Oliver Stone, etc., Albert Brooks in Drive...

Loved There Will Be Blood but never saw The Master.

Sad, but I feel Philip Seymour Hoffman would have been in this...

Jeff

 

Yes, I believe he was supposed to be, though I'm not sure which role.

 

Can't wait.

 

I think, I just might go to the theater for this one.

 

If he's true to the novel, this will be another PTA film with an inconclusive ending, so be prepared for that.

The trailer is amusing but I kind of get an "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" vibe from it, if anyone remembers that Gus Van Sant/Tom Robbins disaster from 20 years ago.

 

Ever heard of this little squib of a novel entitled "The Crying of Lot 49"? What I've read is that the end was re-written for the movie so if you've already read the book, be prepared for that too.

 

Not sure what that has to do with this book and movie but... it's been a long time since I've read it, does it have an ending?

 

That's my point. "49" is concerned with the Sunday before "Pentecost", before Revelation and the descent of the Pentecostal tongues of fyre. In any case, Pynchon specializes in open endings. CoL49 being the most obviously open-ended of his books.

Also, come to think of it, giving narratorial voice to the Female of the cast is in line with both CoL49 and Bleeding Edge. The original ending for Inherent Vice is open-ended, save that it also points directly to the author's old address in Manhattan Beach.

 

As does much else, eh? I wonder will the movie have Doc Sportello living in a beach apartment with a 'Sportello' (aka Dutch) door, i.e. one that has upper and lower panels, like a stable door?

 

Bumping this up--any further feedback or buzz on this?
I see Golden Globe nominations...............

 

Shows up at the local Megaplex this Friday. I'm in.

 

Definitely want to see this. I thought The Master was brilliant, and any new PT Anderson film is a must see for me, but will have to wait until the 30th January UK release date.

 

If anyone's interested:

WTF Podcast: Marc Maron's nearly 2-hour conversation with Paul Thomas Anderson

Great listen. They discuss each one of Anderson's films, including the often-overlooked Hard Eight (aka Sydney) and, of course, Inherent Vice.

 

This is for sure, if a recent interview with PTA in Entertainment Weekly is to be believed.

Anyway: I'm no Anderson fan - IMHO, Boogie Nights is the only film of his that isn't marred to some degree by pretension or narrative uncertainty - but will probably check this out. I have some time for Pynchon and the story looks like it could be interesting.

 

I saw it on Christmas day. Phenomenal film. The pairing of Phoenix and Anderson really has me looking forward to their future collaborations. Nuanced and multi layered with just the right amounts of stoner humour, gumshoe pageantry and an examination of L.A.'s seedy little underbelly. Easily falls somewhere in between "Chinatown" and "The Long Goodbye".

 

Glenn Kenny voted it best film of the year http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/

 

I don't know if 'disappointing' is quite the right word. First off, the voice-over really doesn't work for me. Pynchon specializes in close-third person confused and unreliable, not first person omniscient. Second, the pace was all wrong as far as I could tell. "Inherent Vice" should be more Preston Sturges, less Terrance Malnick. Third, I can understand that the economics prevented PTA from using the top 40/bottom 200 soundtrack in the novel, but the replacement is tone-deaf. Seeing as the Wrecking Crew° is in the middle of all this it would have been nice for the soundtrack to have had more of the ambient sound of the novel as well. Not to mention the missing Bonzo Dog Band sides which were doubtless a weird kind of pointer to "Simulacra and Simulation", seeing as one Bonzo track wasn't issued until 2007*, the other being from an unnamed and unnamable album playing in Sportello's office while more interesting things are going on‡. Some good to great acting, set and setting is rendered well if by no means as comprehensively as the Novel, Mr Phoenix does a convincing Fabulous Furry Freak Brother, Martin Short appears to actually have read the book. But there's too much PTA and not enough TRP in this one.

° "The Boards", such a great name for an L.A. Band—half Byrds, half Beach Boys, split the difference.

‡ Neil Innes name checks "Sim & Sim" in the 2007 liner notes as regards 'Humanoid Boogie', has a lovely story concerning his son's remark "God sure makes the best Movie Sets." Kids these days . . .

* Anyone else notice how much the bonus track "Bang Bang" on the 2007 CD reissue of "The Donut In Granny's Greenhouse" sounds like Stewie from "Family Guy"?