10 Great Movies You Didn't Understand The First Time

10. Inherent Vice

Katherine Waterston Inherent Vice
Warner Bros.

Thomas Pynchon is one of the more indecipherable authors around and Paul Thomas Anderson is likewise one of the most enigmatic directors working today. It should thus come as no surprise that Anderson's adaptation of Pynchon's Inherent Vice was so hard for many people to grasp.

Even on a superficial level, this film about a pot-smoking detective trying to find his ex-wife's new man who's gone missing, is hard to peg down. It doesn't really fit into one genre, and is equal parts comedy, crime and drama film. From there, its open-ended and confusing nature just makes grasping the plot all-the-more impossible.

The irony of course is that the film is designed this way deliberately. It's intentionally convoluted and you're meant to just experience it as opposed to trying to make sense of the mystery. The tricky part is that audiences didn't show up for the vibe or the mood, they came for the whack ball mystery. A second time around with an altered set of expectations might not make sense of this film, but it will also help you understand that this isn't one you need to fully understand to enjoy.

 
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Connor loves movies, comics, and TV, and is trying to write for people who feel the same way. When he's not sitting on the couch with his laptop, you might find him lying in his bed with his laptop.