New in Theaters: ‘Inherent Vice’

Owen Wilson and Joaquin Phoenix sleuth confusedly in ‘Inherent Vice’ (Warner Bros.)

When Thomas Pynchon published Inherent Vice in 2009, it became very clear that the revered author ofGravity’s Rainbow was still interested in his basics (baffling plots, conspiratorial confusion) but was now also cool with knocking out an honest-to-God fun read. Paul Thomas Anderson’s resume of overbusy, overcrowdedSouthern California anthology meta-fictions(Magnolia, in particular) would seem to make him the p...