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A crimson aircraft glides with serenity across the screen, much to the irritation of Paul Kemp who is awoken from his holiday hotel room in an opening reminiscent of those in The Beach and Apocalypse Now. It is in his typical drunken persona that a staggering Johnny Depp arrives at the window. He is met with the plane wishing us all ‘Welcome to Puerto Rico’.
The film will forever be critiqued as the hangover to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and it has every right to be. It is, after all, Johnny Depp donning a new costume that once fit Hunter S. Thompson, the writer of the book. Since it is a Hunter S. Thompson film, there are going to be givens; such as resentment for corporate America, intolerance of fascism and fascination with the American Dream. This movie follows a similar structure to its predecessor too; it is bleached with rum, as any holiday would, and follows alcoholic Paul through his new life in Puerto Rico as a (gonzo?) journalist. Yet something about it feels more grown up than Fear and Loathing even though it was written beforehand.
The Rum Diary presents the island of the 1960s as Fear and Loathing presented Las Vegas: as an oasis of corruption, nightmare and decadence, neglectful of the beauty all around. This is shown through shifts from shots of pristine beaches and ‘modern’ houses, wealthy establishments and pretty cars, to shots of splintered wood, playing on the contrasts of browned-greys to pure-white. The dank scenes that we witness give rise to actual emotion that is hidden behind the false smiles in the idyllic depiction of the island. The primary focus of Fear and Loathing was the idiotic behaviour and the effect of the drugs, and whilst this isn't lacking in The Rum Diary, the focus instead is more political. This does not stump the cult following created by Terry Gilliam because Depp’s passion in remaining true to his friend prevails. It also, interestingly, does not distance new audiences, which was always a possibility, especially since the book didn’t even get published 'till 1998.
Another level to the film is added with the inclusion of Aaron Eckhart’s monopolising Sanderson and his beautiful girlfriend, who becomes Paul’s love/lust interest. The bank’s hold on the island makes the rich richer and the poor riot. Sanderson is presented as one of the forerunners in this movement who takes a shine to Paul because he ‘has the right eye’. It still may not be everyone’s preferred cinematic escapade, but it is as entertaining and thought provoking as all art should be.
The Rum Diary is on at York City Screen. For more information visit http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/York_Picturehouse/
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