The Rum Diary

Gonzo Finds His Voice
The Rum Diary, R, ***1/2, Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi. FilmDistrict film. Director Bruce Robinson. Length 120 minutes.

Sun, fun, and rum mix for a revealing look at The Rum Diary. It is about a writer and icon known as Gonzo. Some are not familiar with Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson. The word Gonzo Journalism was made famous by Thompson who was a reporter using his own subjectivity in journalism to make the article more personal.
I spoke to several people who have never heard of Hunter S. Thompson and others that were familiar with his work. Some turned up their nose at the mention of his name.
Hunter S. Thompson wrote The Rum Diary many years ago along with other political books and interviews.
“The Rum Diary” film is about how Thompson found his voice. This island story is based on the book written by Thompson and published after his death.
It begins in Puerto Rico where Kemp (Johnny Depp) is trying to obtain a job with the local newspaper. He has just arrived from New York. Kemp has not been very successful writing novels, so he needs money to support himself. While trying to find his true voice, he must have some means of providing himself with currency. When Kemp arrives in Puerto Rico, he becomes extremely inebriated. This does not help him get off on the right track with the editor. The editor of the paper where Kemp works is Lotterman (Richard Jenkins).
Lottermain’s advice for writing is to keep the news about who wins - and not who loses. In other words, he does not want to wake the people up. By keeping the readers asleep to the truth, controversy will remain low and the paper will not offend the powers that be. Still rings a familiar bell today.
The scenery captures the island life with clarity through the big screen with the reality of sunshine, fun, and mentioning such personalities as Roberto Clemente, the Puerto Rican right fielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was killed in an airplane crash on a humanitarian trip while trying to help others.
Capitalizing on the culture of the islands, the film has several scenes of rooster fights. Fear not animal activist - the Humane Society monitored the setting to be sure the fowls were hurt. I to would not want to see the little fellows mistreated.
All of these incidents help the real Thompson become closer to his Gonzo journalism. Kemp begins working on a column about horoscopes. Soon he meets Sanders (Aaron Eckhart) a Real Estate manipulator. Sanderson wants Kemp to help him write a convincing paper about the positives of a money making idea concerning underhanded deals.
Kemp meets Chenault (Amber Heard) who is Sanderson’s mistress. Kemp is smitten at first site. However, who would not be? Sanderson is a free spirit which is attractive to the young Kemp.
Kemp teams up with Sala (Michael Rispoli) a photographer working at the local paper. Kemp meets Moburg (Giovanni Ribisi) a burned out reporter still hanging on. They have several wild and wooly excursions with drugs, alcohol, and voodoo. Some of the characters in the book may have influenced Thompson’s life after his Puerto Rico days.
As Puerto Rico is on the ocean, the mention of the trade winds is one of many descriptions that Kemp is saying that might have helped him find his voice. The trade wind basically means path or track.
It is apparent Thompson made a lot of people mad later in life, because he chose to expose the truth about the B_ _ _ _ _ _ _! Like him or not, Gonzo was one of a kind.