Piss puddle of greed.

The Rum Diary
Dir. Bruce Robinson 2011
Paul Kemp, Johnny Depp, in what is increasingly becoming a rare good role, is an alcoholic writer in search of a voice, who decides to work as a freelance journalist and lands a job at at a local newspaper in Puerto Rico. Once there, he finds out the inner workings of the system towards the exploitation of a country in the name of the American dream.

As a serviceable writer, Kemp attracts the attention of investors who convince him to work for them in a little public opinion shifting towards the construction of new hotels on an adjoining island. The developer, Sanderson, as played by Aaron Eckhart, is despicable slime. Kemp ultimately decides that he will, not only, not be an accomplice to them but he will actually try to stop them.

Bruce Robinson’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s novel is an overlooked gem. It is obvious that the subject matter, unflattering to America and its dream, is in part a reason why the movie disappeared from screens and is nowhere to be found on any best of lists (but last year’s deplorable The Tourist was nominated for a Gloden Globe). This is a movie which will probably be re assessed in a couple of years and will find its rightful place as a perfect companion piece to Terry Gilliams’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The semi autobiographic tale of Hunter S. Thompson may be at times much embellished from the reality of his life in Puerto Rico but it works and gets its point across. As Lotterman (the newspaper publisher) says about the writer that Kemp is substituting “He was raped to death”, it is a clear illustration of what America was and is constantly doing in many countries across the world. When Kemp realizes what Sanderson and his investors are planning, he denounces the American Dream as a “piss pudlle of greed” and quotes Oscar Wilde “they know the price of everything and the value of nothing”. At this point he decides to do something to stop the bastards through the use of ink and fury and recruits the help of the completely drowned in alcohol, Moburg (another great driftless soul role by Giovanni Rivissi) and his roommate and coworker Sala (Michael Rispoli ), this film’s answer to Fear and Loathing’s Dr. Gonzo.

Regardless of the outcome Kemp is determined to continue his battle (as H.S. Thompson was) through the power of ink and truth. And as long as there are brave fools still fighting against the bastards, hope lives on.