• ⇤
• ⇽
• ≡
• ⇾
• ⇥

movie review - Inherent Vice

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a tale set in 1970 Los Angeles, in which the stoner element is strong but the old guard elements of society still remain in some force. The main character is a charming stoner who maintains some semblance of a living working as a private investigator. He's asked to investigate the disappearance of a former girlfriend. He finds her, but this semi-modern noir script does not make it remotely easy. He's arrested, beaten, tortured, threatened, and insulted. He's sent to his death on one occasion, miraculously survives, only to be set up for certain death again. The investigation leads to all walks of life from rub-and-tugs to private long-term clinics to mansions to communal homes. Even his putative client is in up to his eyes and unable to escape.

With a stellar supporting cast and some downright amazing sets and scenes that hide forty-five years of development, I was engrossed. Recommended.