Overview
A psychedelic romp through a chaotic kidnapping plot filled with eccentric characters.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- surreal
- laid-back
- late night viewing
- stoner movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a singular, richly acted, visually distinctive adaptation whose convoluted mystery rewards repeat viewings despite its deliberate difficulty.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Doc's search for Shasta, the missing billionaire, and the entangled criminal network continually branches into overlapping stories and uncertain leads.
The private-eye premise is filtered through Doc's pot-smoking lifestyle, deadpan humor, and surreal encounters across 1970s California.
The kidnapping investigation places hippie communities and eccentric outsiders against billionaires, detectives, prosecutors, and opaque organizations.
The film's California locations, high-grain imagery, extreme wide angles, and groovy atmosphere align the visual form with Doc's altered perspective.
Films like Inherent Vice, and why
The Big Lebowski
shared neo-noir investigation, psychedelic atmosphere, comic absurdity, and a disoriented private detective
The Long Goodbye
shared 1970s California setting, paranoid mystery, countercultural themes, and morally murky crime plotting
Under the Silver Lake
shared labyrinthine noir structure, surreal humor, fragmented clues, and distrust of official institutions
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
shared drug-inflected perception, black comedy, countercultural alienation, and unstable detective storytelling
Movie Details
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Release Date
- 2014-12-12
- Runtime
- 149 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (2807)
Cast
- Joaquin Phoenix
- Josh Brolin
- Owen Wilson
- Katherine Waterston
- Reese Witherspoon
- Benicio del Toro
- Jena Malone
- Joanna Newsom
- Jordan Christian Hearn
- Hong Chau
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Inherent Vice about?
- A pot-smoking private detective drifts through a hilarious, haunted 1970s California mystery where every clue deepens the haze.
- What is Inherent Vice like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Inherent Vice as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is Inherent Vice violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Inherent Vice as mild.
- What did critics think of Inherent Vice?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a singular, richly acted, visually distinctive adaptation whose convoluted mystery rewards repeat viewings despite its deliberate difficulty.
- Which films are like Inherent Vice?
- Films with a similar feel include The Big Lebowski, The Long Goodbye, Under the Silver Lake, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
- How long is Inherent Vice?
- Inherent Vice runs 149 minutes.
- Where can I watch Inherent Vice?
- In United States, Inherent Vice is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand.
