SIFF and Greg Olson Productions Present
L.A. NOIR
shadows in paradise
Inherent Vice (2014) From Thomas Pynchon’s "Inherent Vice:" Doc saw old familiar images, like spirit guides sent to help him out, Dagwood and Mr. Dithers, Bugs and Yosemite Sam, Popeye and Bluto, rotating violently inside intensely saturated green and magenta clouds of dust, and he understood for a second and a half that he belonged to a single and ancient martial tradition in which resisting authority, subduing hired guns, defending your old lady's honor all amounted to the same thing. Paul Thomas Anderson: I love Pynchon and his work, I’m possessive about it. The book was always on the set, we were digging around, looking for what he meant, what he was after. We had a job to do. How do we do it right? Pynchon intended the story to be a bit confusing, the way it all comes flying at Doc. I’m still trying to catch up with all the information. Viewers have to go with the flow and the rhythm and not think that if they miss some crucial detail they’re jot going to get the gist. It’s all about the ride. The overwhelming information is part of the humor of the book. You’re going to think, My head’s going to explode and I give up, or, My head’s going to explode and it feels kind of fuzzy and nice. Always with Pynchon there’s an outlandish spirit, and a sweet, dripping aching for the past. And Pynchon always has so many great supporting parts, two people talking to each other. Everything is juicy, even just a couple of lines. And of course Jaoquin Phoenix. The movie is him, it’s really all him. He read the book, he would do things, I’d say, “That’s good.” But it was him presenting to me, all him. He can’t accept compliments, he’ll say, “I just did what Paul told me.” No, all these little things he did are nothing I asked for.” Inherent Vice is everything you can’t avoid. Eggs break, chocolate melts, glass shatters. There are built-in defects in everything—especially in human beings. The Golden Fang is anything that threatens us, arouses fear and anger. Your computer stops working, the Golden Fang is to blame. No new climate change laws? The Golden Fang is stopping them, the commanders and controllers. I love seeing the Warner Brothers logo at the beginning of Inherent Vice, like with all the old detective movies. Thanks to: poet, film curator, and teacher Tova Gannana for her L.A. Cruising, Radio On pre-film playlist, series coordinator Kendal Gabel, and film professor John Trafton for his film essay. The next series, co-produced with SIFF and Festa Italiana, is Martin Scorsese: Maestro of Cinema, ten films spanning forty-six years of his brilliant career. Films curated by Martin Scorsese and Greg Olson, series authorized by Martin Scorsese and Sikelia Productions. Every Wednesday, February 25 to April 29, Uptown Theater. Passes go on sale Wednesday, December 3, at SIFF.NET.
November 12, 2025
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson from James Sallis’ novel Cinematography by: Robert Elswit Music by: Jonny Greenwood Edited by: Leslie Jones THE PLAYERS: Jaoquin Phoenix as Doc Sportello Josh Brolin as Bigfoot Bjornsen Katherine Waterston as Shasta Fay Joanna Newsom as Sortilege Owen Wilson as Coy Reese Witherspoon as Penny Martin Short as Dr. Rudy Jeannie Berlin as Aunt Reet Eric Roberts as Wolfmann Michael Kenneth Williams as Tariq Benicio Del Toro as Saucho Hong Chau as Jade Serena Scott Thomas as Sloan Jordan Christian as Denis