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Joaquin Phoenix has been on an amazing streak of performances since his derisive mockumentary, I’m Still Here. After his return to acting following the experimental project, he returned to critical acclaim with Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and Spike Jonze’s Her, receiving a multitude of award nominations and film critics’ awards. Phoenix’s next film reunites him with Anderson in what may be his best role to date.
Inherent Vice marks the very first film adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel, which is surprising considering how many novels the enigmatic author has written. Phoenix stars as Doc Sportello, a private investigator hired by his ex-girlfriend to stop an intricate plot to have her current billionaire boyfriend admitted into a mental hospital by his wife and her boyfriend. Set in the ’60s, Inherent Vice also explores other -inherent vices-, including sex, drugs, and all of the shenanigans the ’60s were known for. The film also features an ensemble cast surrounding Phoenix, including Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Jena Malone, Benicio dell Toro, Reese Witherspoon, and Maya Rudolph.
Inherent Vice will be in theaters on December 12th. You can read the film’s full synopsis below.
“Inherent Vice” is the seventh feature from Paul Thomas Anderson and the first ever film adaption of a Thomas Pynchon novel. When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a looney bin…well, easy for her to say. It’s the tail end of the psychedelic `60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused – except this one usually leads to trouble. With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists… Part surf noir, part psychedelic romp – all Thomas Pynchon.