First Trailer For Inherent Vice

In the debut trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, Joaquin Phoenix is looking for someone.

Reunited with the director Paul Thomas Anderson after their sterling work on The Master, Phoenix plays a PI investigating the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend in Los Angeles, and while he appears to be as unhinged as his tormented sailor in the pair's previous outing, he’s clearly playing it for laughs this time around.

Abetted by a cast which includes Owen Wilson, Martin Short, Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon and Benicio Del Toro, the noir-like comic drama is also the first ever feature film to be adapted from a novel by the infamously enigmatic author Thomas Pynchon, who Brolin recently let slip might even have a cameo in the film.

Is Brolin fooling us? Word has it the man himself was on set; and given Pynchon has popped up on recent episodes of The Simpsons, appearing with a bag over his head, and even making alterations to the cartoon show's script, there's a safe bet he'll appear in some fashion during a running time already loaded with pop culture zingers.

Though with no known modern photos are believed to exist of the reclusive genius, it looks like Phoenix won’t be the only one hunting for clues when the film hits the big screen.

Inherent Vice will be in cinemas from 30 January, 2015

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