Rhum Express

Johnny Depp's vanity project The Rum Diary - 'vanity project' for that, at the end of the day is all it is - is based on a novel of the same name by Hunter S. Thompson Depp is said to have found among Thompson's belongings after the writer's suicide. The novel, completed in 1960 wasn't published until 1998 and, well, you have to ask yourself why. If the film of the novel is anything to go by I suspect it was simply because it wasn't very good. But as I have never read it, I can't tell you either way.

Mediocre novels have been turned into great films by great scriptwriters and directors. Unfortunately on this offering Bruce Robinson isn't one. Or if he is, he this is one occasion when he hasn't pulled it off. (Robinson made his name with his semi-autobiographical film Withnail & I, and I have to admit that didn't do too much for me either.) Depp has previously dabbled in Thompson's work with Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. That didn't come off either, which suggests to me Depp has something of a blind spot where Thompson is concerned. And this is Robinson's first film as director in 19 years. That, too, should tell us something, and possibly something not particularly complimentary.

The film itself is oddly old-fashioned, in storyline, cinematography, direction and production. In the hands of another director Thompson's rather slight story might well have been turned to gold. Here it remains base metal. Almost everything about it, from the soundtrack to the dialogue, from the 'plot' to the humour - it has been billed as a comedy - is flat and lifeless and, well, mediocre. This kind of schtick was churned out weekly by journeymen writers and directors until the digital age changed what the punter wanted to see. Depp, it has to be said (and this is a personal view) always has an attractive screen presence even when the film he's starring in is third-rate (and I have seen him in some real clunkers - Blow comes to mind).

Amber Heard has virtually no role and I simply did not buy the romance between her character and Depp's. Michael Rispoli, Giovanni Ribisi, Aaron Eckhart and Richard Jenkins (who was excellent as the penny-counting hit-man's paymaster in Killing Them Softly) turn in workaday performances and do the best of a bad job given what little they had to work with. Situations which, I'm sure, were intended to raise a laugh do nothing of the kind. I really did want to turn off halfway through but held out in case it somehow went from second to third gear. But it didn't.

Sorry, Johnny, perhaps you should get better advice and listen to others rather than your own gut.

Rum Diary (2011)

If you're looking for the craziness of later Hunter S. Thompson, you'll find shreds of it here. In a way this is a more cogent movie than say "Fear and Loathing…" but it's also a bit prosaic beneath the wilder stuff that peppers the surface. Johnny Depp stars and runs the show in his usual strong if uninspired way as a new, hard-drinking reporter with a failing English language newspaper in Puerto Rico.

There is a true surface here that's pretty amazing--the cars, the low down rot of the apartments, the racism between the rich white Americans and the indigenous Puerto Ricans. The depth you might expect and want here is slim, however, even though all the pieces are in play for a great drama--a charming troubled writer in a land filled with prejudice and violence and great natural beauty. It pushes the clichés too hard, and it's generally agreed (even by Thompson) that the material is weak and "rambling." The movie doesn't rearrange it enough to make it work.

You can in a way watch this for those surfaces, if you don't need too much more. There are several secondary characters who do their best to be a bit insane, including Giovanni Ribisi as a drugged out waif of a reporter, something like what Thompson himself might have become later in life. (See of course the Depp in the imperfect 1998 "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" for a sense of the famous freewheeling selfish addled sometimes brilliant Thompson.)

The director here also adapted Thompson's book and if he gets the credit for the nice ambiance of the film he also gets the burden of how clunky, choppy, and sometimes slow it is, even with such exciting material. It's not a horror, it's watchable, but you'll flag here and there. Even the end, without giving a thing away, is a bit deflating.

I adored the novel, The Rum Diary and as an aid worker I related to many of the character's struggles. Although the film does stray quite a bit from the book itself, I think it's a perfect homage to Hunter S Thompson. The language still reeks of his Gonzo fury writing and manages to transport the audience into a drunken rant, as well as secretly educating them on the struggles of a free press. It had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion, as well as the packed out cinema that I viewed it with.

I rated this movie a 9 and the last film I rated that high was The Shining. I personally think this film was perfect. The leading actress/actors were perfect and the supporting cast phenomenal, especially Giovanni Ribisi. The only problem with this film in my opinion is that if you are not a fan of the gibbering, artistically nervous tone of most of Thompson's work, this film may be too heavy for you. Although it's easier to follow that Fear and Loathing (which scrupulously stuck to the dialogue from the novel Fear and loathing), many would find the dialogue bizarre.

Personally I loved every minute of this film and think it's already truly underrated.

Plot Summary Now if your the sort of person that needs a definitive story line and thick plot to enjoy a film then this probably isn't for you. Its more a 'fly on the wall' view of a young journalists struggles in a failing newspaper. Paul Kemp(Depp) is a young man trying to make his way in a new place, making new friends and enemy's along the way.

What I thought of it I wasn't sure what I would think of this film, I new it has some great actors, such as Johnny Depp and Giovanni Ribisi, but the concept of the film was a strange one. I was pleasantly surprised, the director Bruce Robinson has done a great job with this film, which was always going to be a very tough job being adapted from a novel by Hunter S Thompson and technically having next to no strong plot.

The film itself is stunning, the locations are amazing and well shot, and the editing style and shots work brilliantly with the type of film and more importantly with Johnny Depp, who has a massive screen presence in everything he does, including 'The Rum Diary'.

This film has everything I want to see in a good movie, strong characters, great sets and brilliant comedy, along with meaning. It really makes you think about society and life nowadays and how primarily, nothing has changed in the way the world goes round and the sort of corruption and manipulation that still goes on today all around us, as it did back in the fifties, only less obviously.

On a lighter note, this film is hilarious and great to watch more than once, there is something rather satisfying about watch a man drink huge amounts of high octane rum and have to deal with the consequences the next morning, something that makes you happy its not only you.

Summary In all I thought this was a very enjoyable film for anyone to watch and have a good laugh at while loving everything about the characters. The acting is scintillating and exciting.

I highly recommend this film to all, one to watch ..... 7/10 Stars*

"Rum Diary" is a retro movie made in the style of all too many films from the early 1970's; the "heroes" are smug, slacker, inconsiderate slobs, but because they talk the talk of peace and love, we are are supposed to overlook their cruelty to individuals and boorish behavior. The kind of movie where the good guys are people that in the real world, you wouldn't want living next to you, or even sitting next to you on a bus or plane. Even with the great Johnny Depp, and a $5.50 seniors' rate ticket , this movie was almost a total yawn. It was so bad,that the ushers requested that we leave our cell phones on.Or at least I wish.