1. Inherent Vice (2014)
2. Ciao! Manhattan (1972)
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I was pleasantly surprised by Inherent Vice- my experience with Pynchon has been that he sets interesting plots in motion, then more or less lets the plot drift away while he focuses on atmospherics. Maybe that’s intentional- maybe it is a meta-commentary about plot. In any event, making a Pynchon novel work as a movie is impressive.
Yeah, for me, Inherent Vice is one of the best movies of the last 20 movies, and imo PTA’s best (and it’s got stiff competition). I have probably seen it 10 times – and even just writing this comment makes me want to see it again!
and yeah, the book is a maze, really. Or multiple simultaneous tangents. With the most elusive McGuffin (Golden Fang) ever! It’s like the case engulfs him. The details overwhelm him and everything is connected in one vast conspiracy.
I thought the book was un-adaptable. And so I could not believe PTA’s adaptation – that he actually pulled it off. He really resisted linearity and resisted creating some coherent plot, where there really isn’t one! Or … there is … but it is so complicated that at a certain point you lose the thread, just like Doc does!
I think I wrote about the adaptation somewhere here. I’ll see if I can find it.
Yup – here it is! http://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=92974