Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas * * * * (out of four) Starring Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey, Cameron Diaz and Tobey Maguire Directed by Terry Gilliam Rated R for profanity, non-stop drug use and general weirdness Theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 Released in 1998 Running 125 minutes
Since it's opening on Friday, Terry Gilliam's new film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has, to say the very least, not been received too well by most film critics. I knew this before I entered the theater yesterday, so I wasn't expecting to see the masterpiece I had anticipated ever since I saw the first previews for the movie. However, I still had to see the flick anyway, no matter how disappointed I might have become (I'm a die-hard Gilliam fan). For the following two hours, I sat in my seat and scrutinized every frame of the movie, waiting for just one single scene to slip up or go wrong. By the time I left the theater, I was completely convinced of one thing; along with Joel Coen and Quentin Tarantino, Gilliam is one of the most talented directors working in Hollywood today.
At first, I was a tad hesitant in writing this particular review because I fully realize that I'm quite possibly the only critic on the face of this planet that is going to praise this movie. But I'm just going to come out and say it, just like I did last year when everyone was attacking U-Turn and Lost Highway; I loved this movie.
Much like the other two films I mentioned, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas isn't so much about story or plot as it is about style and construction. Hell, I defy anyone to give me an even semi-rational explanation of the plot of Lynch's Lost Highway. But like I said, plot doesn't matter; that was an exploration of the possibilities of cinema. Much like an abstract painting, if you will, only put on film instead of a canvas.
How can this film be about plot when it's only existing trace of a storyline involves a drug-addled journalist (Johnny Depp, with his head shaved and sporting a cigarette holder) and his allegedly Samoan attorney (Benicio Del Toro, gaining about sixty pounds since his Usual Suspects days) getting stoned out of their minds and trashing hotel rooms virtually beyond recognition? That is the plot in it's entirety. Along the way, though, they do encounter a variety of characters (played mostly by celebrities in quick cameos), including Gary Busey as a "lonely" (hehe) highway patrol officer and Cameron Diaz as a woman who has Del Toro convinced that she is in love with him merely because they made eye contact.
I've been told that the novel from which this was based (written by Hunter S. Thompson - one of the supposedly cool beatnik authors that I have yet to be acquainted with) is so weird and bizarre that it would be almost un-filmable using any conventional film concepts and techniques. I've also been told by some that have seen this movie that it is pretty much a direct translation of the novel, complete with alot of cool narration. So shouldn't we be giving Gilliam at least some credit for filming a story that was thought to be so odd that it could not be put on celluloid? Even if you don't dig the movie, you at least have to admire that.
One one of the many strong points of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas that I forgot to mention earlier is the awesome as hell soundtrack that the film features. If you want to hear what is probably the best movie soundtrack since Reservoir Dogs, featuring such mind-altering tunes as "White Rabbit", "One Toke Over the Line" and "Get Together", I strongly urge you to buy a copy of the CD (I'm listening to it as I type, as a matter of fact).
I know it's going to sound odd for me to say this about what is basically just a drug trip in movie form, but I seriously doubt that you will see very many films come out this year that are as good as this one. It's that well made.
Copyright 1998 Jason Wallis
Jason Wallis rwallis@inreach.com http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7475
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