Movie Review #3 (Inherent Vice)

8/18/2019 Movie Review #3 (Inherent Vice)

1/4

Horve 1

Patrick Horve

McWhorter

MUS 380

19 April 2016

An Interesting Combination: A Review of the Music of Inherent Vice

Jonny Greenwood created a very interesting score and soundtrack for Inherent Vice. The

reason that I believe these two should be differentiated is that there are really two parts to the

music in this film. There are the large orchestral pieces that were composed by Greenwood, and

then there are the pieces that are brought in, not only from Greenwood’s own band, but from

other performers as well. This combination of music creates an interesting effect throughout the

movie and ultimately creates a successful film.

First off, the orchestrated pieces in this movie are very well put together. These pieces of

music, for example “Shasta,” are orchestrated in a way which is very oriented on strings. This

provides a couple different effects on listeners. These largely orchestrated sections seem to have

a more emotional effect on listeners. However, this is not necessarily taken advantage of

throughout the movie. For example, as Ben Hogwood writes, these scenes “do not always match

the atmospheric pictures Greenwood has taken time and care to paint, and when we move

straight from Greenwood’s Shasta Fay into Les Fleur it is as if a giant windscreen wiper has

changed the view in a single stroke.” (MusicOMH) Even though this may seem like a strange

thing to do, this does create an interesting effect throughout the movie. This disorientation in

music could be traced back to the drug influenced actions of Doc. It is often tough to give the

audience a feeling for what an individual is going through, and music can very successfully do

this. Through the music, we feel disoriented and confused just as Doc is moving throughout the


2/4

Horve 2

movie disoriented and confused. As best said by Jayson Greene, “if this soundtrack were a room

full of furniture, in other words, you would shield your eyes from the clash. But it might actually

make for a sleeker and more condensed vehicle for the film's stoned, clammy energy than the

film itself.” (Pitchfork)

For the other part of the soundtrack, there is an interesting mix of songs, both from

Greenwood’s Radiohead and a multitude of other artists. Once again, “Each of these songs are

supposed to mirror the inner ear of the film’s chief protagonist, private eye Larry “Doc”

Sportello.” (Glide Magazine) I thought these instances of outside music, combined with

Greenwood’s own orchestral compositions, did a fantastic job of portraying the mood and

emotions that were going inside the head of Doc. Another interesting effect that I thought really

brought the movie and music together, especially in these non-orchestrated segments, was the

use of very long fade outs of the music. As this was done, it slowly made you focus more and

more on the dialogue that was occurring in the movie. This is a genius way to bring the audience

into the action, and a very interesting technique, especially when paired with some of the pther

sections of the movie where it seemed the music went on for quite awhile.

Lastly, the silence in this movie was very important. I thought that the silent parts of the

movie really helped to portray the tense and awkward feel of a majority of the movie. Even

though the music played a big part in the movie, the segments of silence really worked well, and,

like I have already said, really provided a good way for the audience to be brought into the story.

Even though this soundtrack was not as “traditional” as many other soundtracks, I thought it did

a nice job of pairing up music and cinematography in a way that really engaged the audience and

created a good movie.


3/4

Horve 3

Works Cited

Greene, Jayson. "Inherent Vice OST." Various Artists: Album Review. Pitchfork, 11 Jan. 2015.

Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Hart, Ron. "Inherent Vice Soundtrack (ALBUM REVIEW) - Glide Magazine." Glide Magazine.

Glide Magazine, 23 Dec. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2016

Hogwood, Ben. "Jonny Greenwood - Inherent Vice OST | Albums | MusicOMH." MusicOMH .

MusicOMH, 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016


4/4

Horve 4

Works Cited

AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced . City Name: Name of

Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g. Print).

LastName, First, Middle. "Article Title." Journal Title (Year): Pages From - To. Print.

Documents

Movie Review #3 (Inherent Vice)