Inherent Vice

Set in a hazy 1970s Los Angeles, Inherent Vice follows the meandering investigation of Larry “Doc” Sportello, a perpetually stoned private detective. His ex-girlfriend, Shasta Fay, reappears with a wild tale about a plot to kidnap her wealthy new lover, and then promptly vanishes. This sends Doc Sportello down a rabbit hole of bizarre characters, from a coke-snorting dentist to a mysterious ship called the Golden Fang.

As Doc digs deeper, the line between reality and paranoia blurs. He uncovers a tangled web of real estate scams, drug smuggling, and government conspiracies, all while dodging his nemesis, LAPD Detective Christian “Bigfoot” Bjornsen. A true psychedelic noir, the film captures the end of the free-love 60s, weaving a complex, comedic, and often confusing mystery where the journey is far more important than the destination. Inherent Vice is a hazy, hypnotic trip through a sun-soaked California underworld.