Paul Thomas Anderson, or PTA, has long been known as a slow director. Like fellow auteurs Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson, he writes and directs his films so they’re usually long in the pipes and take a high level of meticulous planning. Frequent Anderson collaborator and producer JoAnne Sellar confirmed that PTA’s next film, Inherent Vice, however will begin filming as early as April.I started reading the novel Inherent Vice nearly three years ago because I’d heard that it was next on PTA’s playlist with Robert Downey Jr. set to star. Instead of moving into production on that project though, he pursued The Master and released it to much critical acclaim but staggeringly low monetary result.
I myself was not a huge fan of the film per se but found the performances spot on and the cinematography excellent. However, I felt it allowed PTA too much of a chance to haphazardly riff in a stiff-upper lipped, pretentious manner, falling trap to what his films always skirt closely to but never fall victim to.
Review aside, it’s good to hear that PTA will be offering himself a chance at redemption sooner rather than later and will have heir apparent collaborator, Joaquin Phoenix, by his side again. Phoenix is a modern day method actor and certainly has a particular style. His animalistic approach and complete physical and emotional involvement in his role as Freddy in The Master is to be admired but I think he could be even better suited for a PTA film with a more straight-forward linear progression. As for who else will join the cast, you have to expect that some of PTA’s tried and true ensemble will be rushing back for more.
To get more details of what to expect from the movie, check out this brief synopsis from the Thomas Pychon novel–
“Part noir, part psychedelic romp, all Thomas Pynchon- private eye Doc Sportello surfaces, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era.”
I liked the tone of the book but the whole meta-noir feel kind of got away from me so I abandoned the book which thankfully leaves me more opportunity to be surprised and hopefully impressed by PTA’s effort.
There is no official release date for Inherent Vice.
