Inherent Vice

"Love usually leads to trouble."

2014 2h 29m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🍅

73%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 2,810🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes●81Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 119,366

DramaMysteryComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.

“Love usually leads to trouble.”

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Cast

Joaquin Phoenix
Larry "Doc" Sportello
Josh Brolin
Lt. Det. Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen
Owen Wilson
Coy Harlingen
Katherine Waterston
Shasta Fay Hepworth
Reese Witherspoon
Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball
Benicio del Toro
Sauncho Smilax, Esq.
Jena Malone
Hope Harlingen
Joanna Newsom
Sortilège, who is also the narrator

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writers: Paul Thomas Anderson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 74% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

219+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jonny Greenwood. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Leslie Jones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin and Owen Wilson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love usually leads to trouble.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Thomas Anderson directs. Robert Elswit behind the camera. Jonny Greenwood scores. Leslie Jones cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 74% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 12 years ago.
3219+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jonny Greenwood. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Leslie Jones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin and Owen Wilson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Love usually leads to trouble.".
9IMDB entry: tt1791528 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "california", "based on novel or book", "boat", "detective".
11Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Original score: Jonny Greenwood
Editing: Leslie Jones
Production design: David Crank
Costume design: Mark Bridges
Makeup / hair: Miia Kovero
VFX supervisor: Paul Graff
Sound: Chris Scarabosio
Stunt coordinator: Myke Schwartz
Runtime: 149 min · 2h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $14,810,975
Return: 74% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Inherent Vice (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 81/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 119,366 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 15 wins & 99 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Paul Thomas Anderson

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

mattwilde1232017-03-09
★ 7/10
'Inherent Vice' is the next feature film from Paul Thomas Anderson and you can tell. It boasts a great soundtrack, brilliant acting and a very convoluted story as it tells the story of a private detective (Phoenix) as he investigates into the disappearance of a former girlfriend. The screenplay is very confusing. It is hard to follow and purposely so as it introduces many characters and multiple stories but I have heard that this aspect of the screenplay is very true to the original source material. All I could do was admit that the film was too bewildering and to enjoy the many jokes and humorous situations. Joaquin Phoenix is tremendous as the main character Larry "Doc" Sportello. He is complimented with a great supporting cast such as Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. Overall, 'Inherent Vice' is not a typical popcorn flick and I was very confused by the overwhelming plot. ★★★½
GenerationofSwine2023-01-11
★ 10/10
I kind of feel that Anderson lends himself to a film like this. He uses a lot of extreme wide angles and if you ever smoked a little dope in college the world looks a little like when you mount that 18mm on your SLR. His choice of lenses lends itself to telling the story of a guy like Doc without going over the top ala Fear and Loathing and making it a little too blatantly FX. The humor works in best possible dry as a martini kind of way, and it's played straight like comedy should be. But really, the premise sold me. Take a hard boiled film noir kind of mystery and replace Sam Spade with the perpetual stoner and then watch him try to solve a mystery. It's incoherent enough to make you believe that Doc is just a little too rocked to function properly most of the time, which is reflected in his effectiveness and decision making skills. He's smart enough to not bumble his way through it, but has gotten off the magic school bus enough to do his best possible work. And it makes the film do that one singular thing that all movies are required to do in order to be called a success... it entertains. And honestly it's a delight to watch. The acting was great, the director was the best possible person to take on the adaptation, and the lighting walked that fine line between naturalistic and cinematic. I'd call it a beautiful film, but it's hard to call a movie about drugs beautiful without sounding utterly pretentious... so, I'll settle with the highest praise a movie can get... it's entertaining and a pleasure to watch.