Journalist Raoul Duke a.k.a. Hunter S. Thompson (Johnny Depp) heads west to cover a bunch of fairly non-descript stories. He is accompanied by his lawyer, Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro, best known from The Usual Suspects). They both take lots of drugs. And that is about it, plotwise. In fact, that description just about summarises Thompson's book, too. What begins as a straightforward assignment to cover a motorbike rally soon degenerates into an orgy of drug-taking, hallucinatory, teenage girl corrupting, gun and hunting-knife wielding madness.
The movie consists of a number of vignettes - Thompson and Gonzo trashing hotel rooms, Gonzo brandishing weapons and threatening to kill Hunter while stoned, a traffic cop making a pass at Hunter after stopping him for speeding and so on. Depp and Del Toro look great as the would-be journalist and lawyer, respectively. They have obviously taken their cues from Robert De Niro's Raging Bull preparation. Depp has shaved his head to mimic Thompson's sparse pate, and has affected a scarcely discernible mumble (which may be accurate but it isn't always easy to hear the dialogue). Del Toro goes one better, and sports an outrageous beerbelly. He seems quite proud of it too, since it's never out of sight.
What made Thompson's book entertaining was not the subject of his article he was supposed to be writing, but his descent into paranoia and his drug intake increased, his acidic comments on the unfortunate members of society he encountered, and his diatribes against the political leaders of his day. A stream of semi-conciousness, if you like. This is not really captured in the movie. Gilliam's visual flair is obvious - the drug hallucinations, the elaborately-trashed rooms, etc. - but his narrative skills are sorely tested here, since the book didn't have much of a plot to begin with. Thompson's narration is not easy to hear (Depp's method-mumbling), and, lets face it, one trashed room looks much like another (however spectacular it looks). Gilliam is not entirely sympathetic to his characters. While we are encouraged to laugh at their antics while they are on their own, the scenes where they interact with other characters are less amusing - the two come across as boorish assholes. Thompson is , however, portrayed in a far more sympathetic light than his lawyer - (Thompson helped Depp prepare for the movie). One point not addressed by the movie (or the book) is how the hell could Thompson remember anything, considering his intake, unless - gasp- he made some of it up. Surely not !
Watching this movie is a bit like listening to someone else describing in excruciating detail how they got shit-faced at a party. While the tale might be well told, you can't help feeling that you really had to be there to enjoy it .
Directed by Terry Gilliam.
| ****** Excellent - An outstanding
movie ***** V. Good - Very enjoyable or engrossing **** Good - Entertaining *** Mediocre - Nothing special ** Poor - A waste of time * Terrible - Complete rubbish |
*** |
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