Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)

4/10
I read the book last year in anticipation of the movie. It was no masterpiece - messy and convoluted, as expected from Pynchon, but not worthless. Doc Sportello is a great character (the book is full of great characters honestly) and the almost-but-not-quite-post-hippie fried California 1970 vibe was nailed.
The book was fun and frustrating, and obviously any attempt to bring its mess of plot and characters to the screen was going to be a challenge. PTA does a reasonably good job of paring Pynchon's novel down into something that could be put on screen, although in 2 and a half hours he still doesn't ever really come close to saying anything worthwhile or telling a compelling story. What's shocking is how boring the movie is, which the book rarely was. Maybe it's Pynchon's language that made the book compelling and was lost completely in translation. I was reminded of an earlier adaption, Walter Salles' On the Road, which put the book on the screen but completely lost the charm of the author's voice in doing so.
I found the movie really dropped the ball on my two previously-mentioned favorite parts. I really didn't like Phoenix's portray of Doc. Doc in the book reacts to the ridiculous circumstances he gets caught up in with a fried, bemused, mildly curious detachment. Phoenix reacts to almost everything with a furrowed brow and a scowl. Paranoia is a theme in the book but Phoenix's portrayal takes it too far. Sportello as a character to me is way closer to someone like the Dude in the Big Lebowski - solving the mystery of the story almost because he has nothing better to do so why not.
And the other aspect, the stoned early 70's in California, was almost completely absent. Too much of the movie takes place in mostly cramped, unattractive interiors. The era was endemic to Pynchon's book, Anderson treats it almost as an afterthought. The movie could have easily taken place in the present day and there would be little difference.
Finally I was really disappointed in PTA's direction, which was so bland and unadventurous I never would have guessed it was the guy who did There Will Be Blood and The Master at the helm of this thing. A director for hire could have put together a similar effort.
So there you go. There's almost nothing in here worth recommending to anyone for any reason. A huge missed opportunity to make something really cool, in my opinion.