If you are looking for a clear cut crime caper that you can follow from beginning to end this really is not that film. At times hard to follow and bit ‘wacky’ it is presented perfectly if you look at it as the drug fuelled reminiscing of Doc.

Frankly I like the style and after the film started I thought I was going to settle into another Paul Thomas Anderson film but equally a frankly I have to admit that the story sagged in the middle, another to let my attention wander, before thankfully it picked up again and came to a satisfactory if not slightly confusing end.

The plotline which should be simple to follow, proves to be more difficult than you imagine and the viewer has to quickly establish whether half of the events take place in Doc’s mind or are real. Thankfully there is no definitive answer so it really is left to you.

The acting is first rate from beginning to end with Joaquin Phoenix hitting the right note as a whacked-out stoner who is not quite as whacked-out as you think, likewise Josh Brolin is note perfect as straight-laced Bigfoot but there is more to him that meets the eye too.
It is nuances like this brought to life by the actors involved that make this film a cut above others of the same type. Without the acting and Anderson at the helm this could easily have been irritating to the nth degree.

Phoenix’s portrayal of Doc actually makes him a likeable character who you invest in as he stumbles his way from situation to situation without being violent, apart from one desperate instance, stupid or horrible. He is double-crossed, treated like crap by the LAPD, but still ploughs on and the longer the film goes on the more you side with him.

Ably supported by the perfectly cast Josh Brolin and Katherine Waterson, the film also boasts a myriad of ‘star cameos’ that in other circumstances could distract or annoy you but I found them entertaining and not distracting in any way.

It is shame that the film, like so many before it and to come, is just twenty minutes to half an hour too long. The middle section drags the film down like coming down from a drug high perhaps?

Overall the story is pitched perfectly, if a little confusing at times, but it does ask questions and give you something to think about as it flip-flops along. As far as I can tell the setting of California in the 1970s has been captured perfectly by Anderson, again. The casting is strong with actors playing the roles both in broad and sometimes comic strokes but yet still imbued with believability.

If you are patient and have do not mind some meandering in your film-viewing, then this film could be for you. If you are a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson and Joaquin Phoenix then you definitely will not be disappointed.