Inherent Vice

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Inherent Vice

film by Anderson [2014]

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July 20, 2026

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Inherent Vice is a 2014 American neo-noir comedy film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel of the same name. The film is set in Los Angeles in 1970 and follows private investigator Doc Sportello as he investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend and her wealthy boyfriend. The plot involves a complex web of characters, including surfers, drug dealers, musicians, and a mysterious organization known as the "Golden Fang." The film is known for its intricate, often surreal narrative and its blend of crime, comedy, and psychedelic elements.12

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Josh Brolin
Stardom: No Country for Old Men and Milk
…detective Christian (“Bigfoot”) Bjornsen in Inherent Vice (2014), Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel about California’s counterculture.
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…detective Christian (“Bigfoot”) Bjornsen in Inherent Vice (2014), Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel about California’s counterculture.
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Hong Chau
Early roles and breakthrough with Downsizing
…in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Inherent Vice (2014), but her breakout came in Alexander Payne’s Downsizing (2017). Set in the near-future where a scientific process allows people to shrink their bodies to only 4 or 5 inches (10.2 to 12.7 centimeters) in height, Paul, a newly-shrunken man played by Matt…
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…in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Inherent Vice (2014), but her breakout came in Alexander Payne’s Downsizing (2017). Set in the near-future where a scientific process allows people to shrink their bodies to only 4 or 5 inches (10.2 to 12.7 centimeters) in height, Paul, a newly-shrunken man played by Matt…
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Paul Thomas Anderson
Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza
Anderson then helmed Inherent Vice (2014), an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s darkly comic crime noir (2009). He also wrote the script, which was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay based on material previously produced or published. Anderson next wrote and directed Phantom Thread (2017), which starred…
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Anderson then helmed Inherent Vice (2014), an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s darkly comic crime noir (2009). He also wrote the script, which was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay based on material previously produced or published. Anderson next wrote and directed Phantom Thread (2017), which starred…
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Joaquin Phoenix
Later career: Joker and Napoleon
…next movies—Anderson’s Thomas Pynchon adaptation Inherent Vice (2014), Woody Allen’s Irrational Man (2015), You Were Never Really Here (2017; best actor award at the Cannes film festival), Van Sant’s Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018), Mary Magdalene (2018), and Jacques
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…next movies—Anderson’s Thomas Pynchon adaptation Inherent Vice (2014), Woody Allen’s Irrational Man (2015), You Were Never Really Here (2017; best actor award at the Cannes film festival), Van Sant’s Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018), Mary Magdalene (2018), and Jacques
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Maya Rudolph
Acting and motherhood
Rudolph also acted in Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014) and appeared alongside SNL alums Tina Fey and Poehler in Sisters (2015) and Wine Country (2019), Andy Samberg in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), and Fred Armisen in the series Forever (2018). Her films from the late 2010s and early 2020s…
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Rudolph also acted in Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014) and appeared alongside SNL alums Tina Fey and Poehler in Sisters (2015) and Wine Country (2019), Andy Samberg in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), and Fred Armisen in the series Forever (2018). Her films from the late 2010s and early 2020s…
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Owen Wilson
Acclaim for Midnight in Paris and later works
…in director Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014). In the same year he also featured in the star-studded ensemble cast of Wes Anderson’s hugely successful The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wilson reunited with Anderson in 2021, playing a whimsical travel writer in The French Dispatch.
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…in director Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014). In the same year he also featured in the star-studded ensemble cast of Wes Anderson’s hugely successful The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wilson reunited with Anderson in 2021, playing a whimsical travel writer in The French Dispatch.
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Reese Witherspoon
Walk the Line and Wild
In Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014), adapted from the comic crime noir by Thomas Pynchon, she played the love interest of a private investigator (Joaquin Phoenix). The farcical Hot Pursuit (2015) featured Witherspoon as a straight-laced police officer who must protect the widow of a criminal. She later…
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In Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014), adapted from the comic crime noir by Thomas Pynchon, she played the love interest of a private investigator (Joaquin Phoenix). The farcical Hot Pursuit (2015) featured Witherspoon as a straight-laced police officer who must protect the widow of a criminal. She later…
Read More