February 5, 2009
Honesty was something "gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson both cherished and rebelled against.
That is, his work often walked the line between fantasy and fiction seamlessly.
"Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson" is a documentary that exposes the highs and lows of the infamous writer from friends and associates whom have both kind words and brutal truths that give Thompson a more 3D element over his crazed journalistic persona.
Narrated by Johnny Depp, (who played Thompson in the film adaptation of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas") the film follows Thompson's life from his early days in Louisville, Ky. to his final days in seclusion in Woody Creek, Colo.
Depp reads some famous passages from Thompson's books, imitating the voice of the late author in the vein he did while portraying him on film. Highlights include "The Edge," from the book "Hell's Angels" to the "High Water Mark," from his "Vegas" book.
Included throughout the film are old TV appearances, such as the odd appearance on a 1960s game show "To Tell The Truth," to being accosted by a Hell's Angel for what he said in his book about the outlaw bike gang.
The film is pseudo-linear, it strays from one period in time to the present, where there is plenty of bashing of George W. Bush, but it remains fairly consistent covering his three main books: "Hell's Angels," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72."
Some of the people interviewed gave some great insights as to what kind of person Thompson was. Ex-Hell's Angel president, Ralph "Sonny" Barger, claims most of the book about his gang was glorified, but thought it was well written anyway.
Thompson's ex-wife, Sandi Wright, gives insights to Thompson's rage, stating that when she asked for a divorce, Thompson flew into such a rage that she had to call the authorities. When a deputy asked her if Thompson had any guns, she said "22 of them, and they're all loaded."
Other people interviewed were Nixon speech writer Pat Buchanan, who claimed despite Thompson's left-leaning politics, he was perhaps the most viscous critic of liberals at the time.
Nixon's Democratic opponent in the 1972 presidential campaign, George McGovern, said Thompson's over the top dispatches from the campaign trail were both the most false but honest take on presidential politics on a campaign trail.
The film uses archival footage from many of Thompson's weird adventures. Things like his failed run for sheriff of Aspen in 1970 on the "Freak Power" ticket, which he advocated police not to carry guns and change the city's drug laws.
Another documented aspect was his desire to build a monument to be put up after he died, designed by himself and artist Ralph Steadman, who worked with Thompson on many of his projects.
That would, of course, be the giant double-thumbed fist built in the summer of 2005 that blasted his ashes into the Colorado wilderness.
As fun as his life seemed to be, the sad truth expressed by people like Jann Wenner (editor in chief and founder of Rolling Stone magazine), Steadman, his wives and friends is when he hit his wall in the mid-to-late '70s when his productivity began to dwindle in lieu to his drug and alcohol excess.
From the late '70s until his death in 2005, Thompson wrote very little in comparison to his work from the mid-'60s to the mid-'70s.
This decline is pointed out by Jann Wenner, who sent Thompson to Zaire to cover the legendary Ali-Forman boxing match for Rolling Stone. Thompson went, ended up not going to the match and could not write anything about it.
The film is impressive visually, yet there are moments when things become a bit too cheese ball. This is usually during the reenactments of things he caught on an audio recorder.
The audio is authentic, but having a tall skinny guy with a drink in one hand and a suitcase full of narcotics in the other seem to only add to the persona rather than the person.
The DVD bonus features are good, including deleted scenes, extended interviews and audio commentary.
The thing one picks up from this voyeuristic journey into the life of a famed author are the trappings of fame and expectations that come along with it.
As Thompson said in a BBC interview in the '70s, "I don't know when people want to interview me or Raoul Duke [his alias in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and other stories he wrote for Rolling Stone]."
This is an interesting film, but leaves one wanting more. Perhaps it could have been done in two installments, but one can only take what they can get.
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