Director
Paul Thomas Anderson
Leading Actors/Actresses
Joaquin Phoenix
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Ketherin Waterston, Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson
Genre
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Writing-Adapted Screenplay
Date of Release
2014
Producer
Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar
Setting and Context
1970 Los Angeles
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Doc. Narrator is Sortilège
Tone and Mood
Comedic, Dramatic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Doc. Antagonists are Shasta Fay, Bigfoot, Adrian
Major Conflict
Shasta Fay wants to help Mickey, a real estate mogul she's been sleeping with escape from being admitted to a psych ward by his wife. So, she hires her ex-boyfriend, Doc to help.
Climax
Shasta has been entangled with a heroine cartel and brought trouble on Doc's head. He ends up with 20 kilos of heroin that he exchanges for his life and the freedom of Coy.
Foreshadowing
Doc being knocked out and his first lead being dead foreshadows that his investigation is not going to be paint by numbers.
Understatement
It is understated that Shasta Fay is still alive.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
Shasta Fay's relationship to Doc is an allusion to how someone can use a former lover.
Paradox
Shasta Fay asks Doc for his help, paradoxically she's knowingly led him into danger.
Parallelism
Sortilege on the porch with the ouija board parallels the scene with her in the car with Doc as they drive to Channel View Estates, as she is a hallucination in both.
