For fans of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hunter S. Thompson's other works, the prospect of a film adaptation of The Rum Diary (or anymore of his work) has been tantalizing them for 13 years. Now, with The Rum Diary complete and its trailer online, not only can they finally get some satisfaction, but it looks like excitement is warranted. One thing you can't help but notice right off the bat is the stark difference between the directing styles. For Fear and Loathing you had the mindbending vision of Terry Gilliam, whereas here we have a much more straightforward, polished, Oscar-contending aesthetic courtesy of Director Bruce Robinson. Sure, there's the voiceover suggesting that it may or may never have happened, but it's unclear as to just how "out there" the film will get. Probably nowhere close to birds swooping down to attack Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro as they drive in a convertible down a lonely highway, but at least it's there. That uncertainty in the line between reality and hallucination is an important part of Thompson's work, and here's hoping it makes into the film and is not just a device to get people hooked on the trailer. The film boasts an promising cast of Depp, Richard Jenkins, Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Rispoli, and Marshall Bell. This could be the best thing Johnny Depp has done in years.
Check out the trailer and synopsis below.
The official synopsis:
Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson, “The Rum Diary” tells the increasingly unhinged story of . Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins). Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property development deals, is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen’s financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.
