Fans of Paul Thomas Anderson are getting an early peek at their Christmas present for this year, as Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the auteur’s new movie Inherent Vice starring Joaquin Phoenix (Her). The movie will open in select cities on December 12th, making it eligible for all of the year-end awards, before going wide on January 9th.
The director and star worked together on Anderson’s last movie, The Master, back in 2012. As always, Anderson’s cast is filled with quality actors, as Phoenix will be joined this time around by his Walk the Line co-star Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin (Gangster Squad), Benicio Del Toro (Savages), Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers), Jena Malone (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1), Martin Short (Father of the Bride), Katherine Waterston (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby), and last but not least, Anderson’s real-life better half, Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids).
Inherent Vice is an adaptation of the novel by Thomas Pynhcon, and marks the first of the author’s novels to make it to the big screen. The story follows private eye “Doc” Sportello (Phoenix) as he investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend, though as one can imagine,countless complications soon arise.
Some of Anderson’s past movies, namely Boogie Nights (1997) and Punch Drunk Love (2002), have had comedic elements, but Inherent Vice looks like it might be the director’s most overt attempt at a comedy yet. While some fans and critics were put off by the rather bizarre and inaccessible nature of The Master and in particular Phoenix’s character in it, it appears that Anderson’s latest may be more fun and easier for audiences to connect with. The movie will officially debut this Saturday at the New York Film Festival ahead of its December release.
Check out the trailer below:
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