Why is ‘Inherent Vice’ boring sober but amazing high?
It’s fair to say that with some films, you have to be in the right mood to enjoy them properly. A raucous comedy might be able to drag us from our darkest moments, just as an introspective drama can inform our real lives when we are most in need of guidance. But what about a movie that seems to be inconceivably better when under the influence of drugs?
When we published our list of ten best films to watch when stoned, we pointed out the magic of Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2014 neo-noir mystery comedy Inherent Vice, based on Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel of the same name. Inherent Vice isn’t just better stoned, though; it’s almost essential to be under the influence because the narrative and the production just do not hit in the same way when sober.
I’ve watched Anderson’s Pynchon adaptation four times now, twice high, twice sober, and I can say hands down that the times high were far more enjoyable. That’s not to say that every film is better high because they’re not, but that Inherent Vice, in particular, lends itself well to an evening on the sofa with a spliff burning in the ashtray.
But what is it about the film that is so conducive to getting blazed? After all, Anderson’s movie, as is the case with most of Pynchon’s fiction, is a complicated story to follow, full of paranoia and conspiracy that drags its ass all over Los Angeles, rarely if ever making sense. One might think that having a sense of clarity as the film progresses would lead to a deeper understanding of events, but a sober viewing of Inherent Vice feels rather dull.
At its core, Inherent Vice sees Joaquin Phoenix play a stoner, hippie private investigator called Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, who becomes wrapped up in the Los Angeles criminal underworld whilst investigating a series of cases linked to the disappearance of his former girlfriend. Phoenix is on fire as Doc, while Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson and Benicio del Toro also give brilliant, larger-than-life performances.
For starters, Inherent Vice takes place in a smoky and hallucinatory world of its own, so partaking in a pull or two with Doc as he makes his way through one of the strangest visions of Los Angeles ever conceived, meeting some of the city’s most bizarre and enigmatic characters, allows for audiences to get inside his head and the mind of Pynchon himself. Inherent Vice isn’t meant to make sense; the point is merely to be there for the ride, regardless of how red-eyed.
In addition, watching Anderson’s film high allows one to pick up on the intricacies of the dialogue. These little snippets are so subtle and hilarious that they can barely be perceived during a sober viewing. By trying to unravel the mystery of Shasta Fay Hepworth and the Golden Fang logically, audience members miss the movie’s subtleties. If the man responsible for cracking the case is stoned, then you can be sure that you should be, too.
Let’s not forget the sheer aesthetic beauty of the film, too, with its glowing cinematography of sun-soaked 1970s Los Angeles arriving on screen in a resplendent haze, much as it appears to Doc throughout his sunglasses. There’s a deep attention to nostalgia in Anderson’s movie that lends itself perfectly to smoke and throw into account Johnny Greenwood’s gorgeous acoustic-heavy score and a few numbers of the era from the likes of Can and Neil Young, and it’s easy to see why Inherent Vice should be considered one of the ultimate stoner movies. In fact, Anderson had once even compared it to the equally brilliant The Big Lebowski, of which it shares many analogues.
Inherent Vice is not an easy film to place into a genre, with it seamlessly moving between mystery, crime and comedy, so being high allows for its enigmatic and peculiar nature to work its charms to the core. By contrast, a sober mind will likely be scratching its head and reaching for the remote, whereas laughter and intrigue ensue when entirely in the mind of Doc and Pynchon himself. The proof is in the experience, though, and watching Inherent Vice under the influence unlocks an altogether new experience in its own right. Try it out for yourself and see.