As complex as “Inherent Vice” is, a unifying link that sheds light on the movie’s plot is Sortilège (Joanna Newsom). In the film, Sortilège has a dual role, serving as narrator and close friend to Shasta (Katherine Waterston) and Doc, providing occasional bits of wisdom to the latter. However, Sortilège’s appearance in the movie is greatly expanded upon from the source material.
While the character is present in Thomas Pynchon’s novel, Sortilège’s narration was an addition made by Paul Thomas Anderson as he was writing the script. Rereading Pynchon’s novel, Anderson was struck by a description of Sortilège that hints at her almost mystical ability to solve problems. “She has this all-seeing, omniscient narrator-ship character, but she doesn’t reveal everything she sees or knows in her actions with her friend Doc,”Newsom stated that Entertainment Weekly.
As a result, Anderson expanded Sortilège’s role in the film, often shooting her in such a way as to hint that she’s a hallucination. Anderson believes that the final product capitalized on Newsom’s dreamy delivery and physical presence. “[Newsom] just has that about her, that’s what she brings to it just by being there. Something about her is so elegant, beautiful, and knowing. She’s, like, from another planet,”Anderson told Little White Lies.