FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
Director: Terry Gilliam Writers: Based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson. Screenplay by Terry Gilliam & Tony Grisoni, Tod Davies & Alex Cox Producers: Laila Nabulsi, Patrick Cassavetti, Stephen Nemeth
Characters: Johnny Depp - Raoul Duke Benicio Del Toro - Dr. Gonzo
Review:
This movie is not for everyone. It's important to get that out of the way at the outset. It's a strange, disturbing, confusing, and considerably offensive movie, and it's without question one of my all-time favorites.
When I first heard of this movie back before it was released in theaters, I was excited about it, though I'd never even heard of the book. I originally discovered it when I was trying to check up on whatever Terry Gilliam's new project might be. You might know him from any of a number of excellent movies he has directed including "12 Monkeys", "Brazil", and "The Fisher King". Anyway, I was very favorably surprised to find that this, his next movie, was going to star two of my favorite actors, Depp (go see "Donnie Brasco", "Ed Wood", and "Edward Scissorhands") and Del Toro ("The Usual Suspects" and many small but incredible roles).
Anyway, to the movie at hand. It is, simply put, about drugs. Slightly less simply put, it is "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream". The plot revolves around two compatriots, a doctor of journalism and his attorney, who are sent to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race for the magazine Raoul Duke (Depp) works for. This business trip (no pun intended) quickly turns into an extended orgy of drug use, mayhem, and (dare I say) hilarity. The movie is clearly a comedy, but there are many moments where the experience becomes oppressive -- too strange, too demented.
Like the book (which I rapidly bought and read after seeing the film), the movie is able to rapidly and seamlessly go from ridiculous humor to disturbing and uncomfortable strangeness to a really poetic and thought provoking narration. Actually, almost everything in the movie is word for word, image for image taken from the book. It's a very faithful reproduction.
As I said, it's definitely not something everyone would like, but I strongly urge everyone who thinks there is any chance they would like it to give it some serious thought.
- John Roberdeau
- john@dvdfuture.com
- http://www.dvdfuture.com/
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