I don’t know if there’s an unlikier filmmaker working today than Terry Gilliam. I don’t know if any feature he’s directed hasn’t had some problem or another. And though he has his fans, his work is never really a huge hit as near as I can make out. But he keeps coming back, plugging away with new projects, and that’s rather admirable.
Then again, my ex-wife used to rave over Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and that makes it one of those movies she’d leave on, I’d see part of, and then later I wasn’t sure I was interested enough to see the rest of it. Well, I might as well plug that hole and see the rest of it while it’s still on Netflix.
Johnny Depp stars as Raoul Duke, a writer on assignment in Las Vegas. He brings along his lawyer Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro) and a whole lot of illicit substances to make sure the pair stay stoned or drunk or both the entire time they are there while Duke is ostensibly covering some kind of motorcycle race.
You know, that’s more or less the plot of the movie. The pair go to Vegas, take drugs, run afoul of various oddballs who are nowhere near as odd as Duke or Dr. Gonzo. Many of these encounters are with recognizable actors like Tobey Maguire (almost unrecognizable as a hitchhiker the pair scare away), Christina Ricci, and Cameraon Diaz.
I rather enjoyed this one at first. Depp, here at the height of his weirdness and the movie uses his general eccentricities to its advantage. Gilliam tries to make the movie look as much like an actual drug trip as he can. That means carpets that melt, people who turn into lizards, and even a glimpse of writer Hunter S. Thompson, a nice touch since Duke is basically him.
Plus, as much as Depp is doing the Depp thing, watching this in 2019, that is a bit old, so the real treat is del Toro’s Dr. Gonzo, a lawyer who frequently recommends courses of action as a lawyer that have nothing to do with the law. By turns actually competent or extremely paranoid, the actor is almost unrecognizable as Gonzo, showing a lot more acting talent than Depp does.
But the real issue I had with Fear and Loathing is, after a while, the crazy visuals, Depp’s narration, and random encounters got a little old after a while. The movie didn’t change much, but it became clear there was little or no character progression for Duke, and he may not even get his article done. Instead, he just goes places, runs from people he’s afraid of, has drug-induced reactions to whatever is happening as he and Gonzo leave every place they go an absolute mess. After a while, I lost focus on the movie.
Fear and Loathing was a financial flop upon release, yet another piece of poor luck for Gilliam. However, it has since picked up a cult following. I can see why. It’s weird, and effectively so, but I think I needed a bit more. Or else I still associate it with someone else and seeing a handful of scenes over and over again. Either way, it was fine, even outright remarkable in places, but not for me.
Grade: B-
0 Comments