The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon. Anderson wanted to stay true to the novel, but create the film in his own way. The use of the narrator, Sortilege, does two things. First, it allows us to enter the world of the novel through cinema through a device used with great effect in fiction. Second, Sortilege is able to be used within the imagery of the film to show us that Doc is not certain as to whether he is hallucinating or not. This is where the film begins, Doc alone in his beach bungalow as Shasta Fay, his ex, appears out of nowhere. Is this real?
Here, this question is posed throughout the entire film, as we witness layers upon layers of corruption within various forms of society. From the police to corporations. Anderson's film is one where the surface layers are peeled back to reveal the rotten nature within. Post WWII Nazis seeking to take control of real estate, to drug cartels owning corporations on American soil that corrupt the youth. And we even see how those corrupted are corrupt (Mickey Wolfmann).
The film is quite self-consciously meant to seem like an ominous acid trip, and the mystery twists and turns down a dark rabbit hole of horror in American society. In the end, everyone is given a choice as to what to do. Anderson shows us characters that choose to serve their own self-interests even at the cost of others: Shasta Fay, Bigfoot, Mickey and the list goes on and on.
