Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice is a light neo-noir comedy, just like the Pynchon novel that inspired it. Despite our eagerness to overanalyze film adaptations of complicated books, Katie Kilkenny warns us not to take this one too seriously:
Inherent Vice inherently rewards only half-serious analysis… Semiotics nerds, who so love Pynchon, might call the effort a fitting moment when a familiar signifier (Paul Thomas Anderson) doesn’t necessarily line up with an agreed-upon signified (deep masterpiece) and creates a feeling of postmodern unease. I call it Anderson finally enjoying the clout he’s reaped.
