Switching Scenes Mid-Conversation: INHERENT VICE
Inherent Vice is a noir with drug-induced, dreamy logic driving its protagonist and plot. All its techniques serve to underscore that vibe!
This scene between Doc (Joaquin Phoenix) and Sauncho Smilax, Esq. (Benicio del Toro) jumps locations while smoothly continuing its train of thought, and making perfect sense; let’s look at how!
Smooth Conversation
The jump happens between sentences but no break in conversation flow; the one directly ‘answers’ the other:
“After World War 2 she was bought by Burke Stodger.”
”Burke Stodger, Burke- Burke Stodger the actor?”
By repeating the name on either side of the cut, the scene makes clear the thought is directly related to everything Sauncho was just saying.
That they just so happen to be in a cafe where a photo of said movie star is hanging isn’t mere coincidence: it could be they had several more minutes of conversation on the way to the cafe and circled back around to the topic of Burke Stodger (such a fun name to say); or the location change is the drug/dream logic making connections as Doc pieces together all the clues; or the cut is a clever way to ellipse time in a two-and-a-half hour movie.
Thing is it doesn’t matter which explanation you run with, the edit works — not just because of the conversation, but the cinematography . . .
Contrasting Setups
Though the shot size and characters within the shot are the same, the lighting, surroundings, characters’ orientation to each other, and colour palette, have all changed.
Doc and Sauncho have switched sides, they’re facing each other instead of both looking outwards, it’s darker because we’re insight and the lighting is slightly cool-blue-er, where the stone wall and palm tree are brown and beige now there’s red in the booth and foregrounded metal bell (I think that’s what that is?)
There’s no moment of doubt whether we’ve just switched to a different shot, we’ve clearly switched locations entirely. It’s not until Doc has clambered up and grabbed the picture that the shot switches to a reverse where we can see Sauncho’s face, and by then we’re firmly oriented to where we are.
Then to change gears again, we see Sauncho’s eyes go to something offscreen as he quiets down before the waitress walks into shot, clarifying to us what he saw and how careful he is not to be overheard.
It’s clear much thought was put into how peoples’ trains of thought run, and what motivates cuts, blocking, and conversational shifts.
Takeaways
‘Dream logic’ can still be coherent, and where and how you cut between scenes is a big part of making it so.
If you want to be clear there’s a thought continuation, consider whether it makes sense to repeat a line on either side of the jump, cut mid-sentence, or do something similar. If you want to be clear there’s been a location change, make sure the visuals have changed, but remember keeping the same general shot and/or character size can help smooth the transition for the audience.