The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Inherent Vice
Drama · Mystery · Comedy · 2014
In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.
Movie details
Inherent Vice
“Love usually leads to trouble.”
2014 Drama · Mystery · Comedy 2h 29m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Inherent Vice?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Kid Detective
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A once-celebrated kid detective, now 31, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.
Wonderland
Crime · 2003
On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes.
Sherlock: Case of Evil
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Early in his crime-solving career, Sherlock Holmes attempts to prevent Moriarty from cornering the heroin market.
Filth
Crime · 2013
A bigoted junkie cop suffering from borderline personality disorder and drug addiction manipulates and hallucinates his way in a bid to secure promotion.
Brick
Drama · 2006
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Too Late
Drama · 2016
Private investigator Mel Sampson is tasked with tracking down the whereabouts of a missing woman from his own past.
Gone Baby Gone
Crime · 2007
When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.
Boogie Nights
Drama · 1997
In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.
The Long Goodbye
Mystery · 1973
In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.
Mulholland Falls
Drama · 1996
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by
Paul Thomas Anderson
Joaquin Phoenix
Larry "Doc" Sportello
Josh Brolin
Lt. Det. Christian F. "Bigfoot" Bjornsen
Owen Wilson
Coy Harlingen
Katherine Waterston
Shasta Fay Hepworth
Reese Witherspoon
Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball
Benicio del Toro
Sauncho Smilax, Esq.
Jena Malone
Hope Harlingen
Court is in session
Put Inherent Vice on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.