We have seen a couple stills and a brief flash of footage from Inherent Vice, but Warner Bros. is happy to keep the flow of publicity materials slow and steady up until the October 4 New York Film Festival premiere.  A new image surfaced tonight that offers our first look at Reese Witherspoon.  Adapted from the Thomas Pynchon novel, the plot of the movie is set into motion when an ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterston) hires private detective Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) to investigate a case in early 1970s Los Angeles.

Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Owen Wilson, Martin Short, Jena Malone, and Joanna Newsom also star.  Inherent Vice opens in limited release December 12 and expands nationwide January 9, 2015.  See the full Inherent Vice image after the jump.

Via LA Times:

Official synopsis:

“Inherent Vice” is the seventh feature from Paul Thomas Anderson and the first ever film adaption of a Thomas Pynchon novel.  When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a looney bin…well, easy for her to say.  It’s the tail end of the psychedelic `60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused – except this one usually leads to trouble.  With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists…  Part surf noir, part psychedelic romp – all Thomas Pynchon.