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Hunter S. Thompson

October 28, 2011 by · Comments Off on Hunter S. Thompson 

Hunter S. Thompson, Given his friendship with Hunter S. Thompson and his role in the publication of Thompson’s novel, it makes perfect sense for Johnny Depp to play his replacement in The Rum Diary.
Depp deftly captures the “gonzo” spirit of journalist / author / ingestion of many substances. Much of the wit unusual dialogue seems to come directly from the book of Thompson. That distinctive dialogue is the greatest asset of the film.

The Rum Diary was inspired by the experiences of Thompson in 1960 in Puerto Rico. Although the story is not strictly biographical, the book’s characters and the film is based on he was.

Depp discovered the unpublished manuscript to visit the home of Thompson of Colorado in the 1990’s. Together, they decided to publish the novel.

So clearly, The Rum Diary is a work of love and drunken tribute to Thompson, who died in 2005, and a celebration of his unique voice. However, as a film which is uniform and lacks cohesion.

The story, which exposes a corrupt scheme to build a huge hotel spot on earth, no sense of humor insane in 1998 Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But then, The Rum Diary was Thompson’s first novel, written in 1959 when he was 22.

Depp plays Paul Kemp, an indifferent writer tired of conventional American life in the Eisenhower era. Kemp takes a job in San Juan at a small newspaper run by a cynical editor. He befriends Hall (Michael Rispoli), a Surrealist photographer, and the two embark on a series of adventures soaked in rum. Kemp also falls for the sexy Chenault (Amber Heard) Sanderson’s girlfriend (Aaron Eckhart), a cunning American programmer who wants to make the most pristine areas of Puerto Rico in a tropical paradise for the rich.

Sanderson Kemp sizes up intelligence and the precarious situation and makes him an offer he finds hard to refuse. Kemp paid generously to change the wording of very positive reports on projects of Sanderson. He faces an ethical choice: to use his talent for writing increased ruthless capitalists or “take the bastards down.” In fact it is not, however.

Filmed in Puerto Rico, the story shifts to the local bars and a hallucinogen terrible moment in which the dissipated journalist Moburg (Giovanni Ribisi) and Kemp Hall gives an unidentified drug. They put drops of it in his eyes and Kemp seen as the language of room becomes a demonic snake. This comic bit strangely feels more like the classic Thompson.

While Depp captures the spirit of Thompson and has some undeniably funny moments, there are others in which the Pirates of the Caribbean Captain Jack filtered through, without the accent, in his reactions and even behind his vocal cadence dragging.

The story was no doubt intended to convey Kemp / Thompson ‘s lack of purpose drunk, but the film is disjointed and winding as a result.

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