A review by Azzam Abdur-Rahman
This one of those seminal films of the scumbums in your life. A drug film written by a madman and directed by one of the most lauded visual directors of a generation. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a film that has an audience who I am sure would fight me for what I am about to say… but I believe this is arguably one of the most overrated films ever made.
I should love this film and when I was a fifteen year old boy who found drug films to be a blend of horror and coming of age, I was deeply fascinated by the worldview of those who lost themselves in a chemical wave. I found something to root for in the images of Fear and Loathing – as a fifteen year old boy. I thought Johnny Depp’s commitment to his performance as Hunter S. Thompson was incredible. Benicio Del Toro, giving one of his classic scenery-chewing performances that he shined in so well during the 90’s, doing what still keeps getting him work today. But this movie is an abject failure in storytelling and direction.
My first issue is that the characters have zero redeeming value. Not one. Duke is a sociopath who legitimately doesn’t even do his job righ t– he just does drugs and causes abject mayhem. The whole plot of the film is that he is going to Las Vegas to write about a motorcycle race. That is barely a moment in the film. It is just him freaking out. Dr. Gonzo is awful. Which leads to my next issue – you can’t understand a single word either actor says for like a third of the film. It took me multiple rewatches as a teenager to hear the line “this is bat country” because the audio mix of those scenes is hellish. That being said, if that is a choice of Gilliam, it’s a bad one – which is my main issue with this film.
People rave about Gilliam’s eye. As a visual filmmaker, he just has a vision and an aesthetic that cannot be matched. That being said, this film is a disservice as it is a book written by a man who should have been told, “No!” And then that book is adapted by an artist who isn’t being told “No” at this point in his career. It is a poisoned chalice on every level. Scenes lead nowhere and instead of creating a visual or emotional through-line, Gilliam just goes ape-wild with his love of imagery. Gilliam could have created a truly marvelous film, but he doesn’t and, in my humble opinion, never had a handle on yje actors. Johnny Depp is out of control though, as I said above, his commitment is great. He is completely unaware of where the camera is. Del Toro finds no humanity in Gonzo. He plays him like a force of nature. A director interested in more than a mise-en-scene would have noticed that.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a bad book that was turned into an unfocused, visual hellscape. If you like images on images on images… ignore what I have to say as my opinion doesn’t matter… but if you like character development in your films, well, this film isn’t for you. Duke (i.e Thompson) doesn’t change. Gonzo is still a monster from beginning to end. It’s all about a monologue from a drugged out fool who has nothing to say that ever mattered. End of the day? This is a film to love at 15 and loathe at 30.
This one of those seminal films of the scumbums in your life. A drug film written by a madman and directed by one of the most lauded visual directors of a generation. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a film that has an audience who I am sure would fight me for what I am about to say… but I believe this is arguably one of the most overrated films ever made.
I should love this film and when I was a fifteen year old boy who found drug films to be a blend of horror and coming of age, I was deeply fascinated by the worldview of those who lost themselves in a chemical wave. I found something to root for in the images of Fear and Loathing – as a fifteen year old boy. I thought Johnny Depp’s commitment to his performance as Hunter S. Thompson was incredible. Benicio Del Toro, giving one of his classic scenery-chewing performances that he shined in so well during the 90’s, doing what still keeps getting him work today. But this movie is an abject failure in storytelling and direction.
My first issue is that the characters have zero redeeming value. Not one. Duke is a sociopath who legitimately doesn’t even do his job righ t– he just does drugs and causes abject mayhem. The whole plot of the film is that he is going to Las Vegas to write about a motorcycle race. That is barely a moment in the film. It is just him freaking out. Dr. Gonzo is awful. Which leads to my next issue – you can’t understand a single word either actor says for like a third of the film. It took me multiple rewatches as a teenager to hear the line “this is bat country” because the audio mix of those scenes is hellish. That being said, if that is a choice of Gilliam, it’s a bad one – which is my main issue with this film.
People rave about Gilliam’s eye. As a visual filmmaker, he just has a vision and an aesthetic that cannot be matched. That being said, this film is a disservice as it is a book written by a man who should have been told, “No!” And then that book is adapted by an artist who isn’t being told “No” at this point in his career. It is a poisoned chalice on every level. Scenes lead nowhere and instead of creating a visual or emotional through-line, Gilliam just goes ape-wild with his love of imagery. Gilliam could have created a truly marvelous film, but he doesn’t and, in my humble opinion, never had a handle on yje actors. Johnny Depp is out of control though, as I said above, his commitment is great. He is completely unaware of where the camera is. Del Toro finds no humanity in Gonzo. He plays him like a force of nature. A director interested in more than a mise-en-scene would have noticed that.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a bad book that was turned into an unfocused, visual hellscape. If you like images on images on images… ignore what I have to say as my opinion doesn’t matter… but if you like character development in your films, well, this film isn’t for you. Duke (i.e Thompson) doesn’t change. Gonzo is still a monster from beginning to end. It’s all about a monologue from a drugged out fool who has nothing to say that ever mattered. End of the day? This is a film to love at 15 and loathe at 30.
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