Claim: Paul Thomas Anderson worked with Joaquin Phoenix.

Inherent Vice is a 2014 American neo-noir comedy-drama film . The seventh feature film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson , Inherent Vice was adapted by Anderson from the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon ; the cast includes Joaquin Phoenix , Josh Brolin , Owen Wilson , Katherine Waterston , Eric Roberts , Reese Witherspoon , Benicio del Toro , Jena Malone , Joanna Newsom , Jeannie Berlin , Maya Rudolph , Michael K. Williams and Martin Short . As with its source material , the storyline revolves around Larry `` Doc '' Sportello , a stoner hippie and PI in 1970 , as he becomes embroiled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld while investigating three cases interrelated by the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend and her wealthy boyfriend .   Anderson 's adaptation of Inherent Vice had been in development since 2010 ; it is the first time one of Pynchon 's novels has been adapted for the screen . The film marks Anderson 's second consecutive collaboration with Joaquin Phoenix following The Master and involves a number of his other recurring collaborators , including producers Daniel Lupi and JoAnne Sellar , cinematographer Robert Elswit and editor Leslie Jones . It is also the third consecutive Anderson film to be scored by Radiohead guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood , following There Will Be Blood and The Master .   Inherent Vice premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 4 , 2014 , and began a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 12 , 2014 . Critical reception was somewhat divided , but more often leaned towards acclaim ; while some argued the film had a convoluted plot and lack of coherence , reviewers praised the cast -- particularly Brolin , Phoenix and Waterston . The work went on to receive a number of award nominations , including two Oscar nominations and a Best Actor Golden Globe Award nomination for Phoenix . The National Board of Review named it one of the ten best films of the year . Some critics have said that Inherent Vice has the makings of a cult film . In 2016 , it was voted the 75th best film since 2000 in an international critics ' poll .