For many The Rum Diary has been a long awaited film adaptation of the novel that goes by the same name written by the weird yet wonderful writer Hunter S Thompson in the 1960s.
For many The Rum Diary has been a long awaited film adaptation of the novel that goes by the same name written by the weird yet wonderful writer Hunter S Thompson in the 1960s.
After numerous attempts dating back to 2000 to make the novel adaptation, filming finally began in Puerto Rico in 2009 financed by Graham King and his production company GK Films.
Directed by Bruce Robinson with Johnny Depp working as executive producer and lead in the film, both worked together so that any imagery once created in our minds when reading the book seemed a lot less imaginative and weird.
The film is set in 1960s Puerto Rico, Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp), has moved from New York to work as a freelancer at a paper that is going bust. Along the way he becomes corrupt by mermaids, booze, fast cars, drugs, prison and all importantly finding the story known as the elephant in Puerto Rico.
I highly recommend this outstanding film adaptation to any writer, aspiring writer, or anyone who wants to look into the life and mind of a man before he found his voice.
The voice I am referring to is that of Hunter S Thompson who is largely recognised for his ramblings of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I can only assume that the end line of the film ‘This is the end of one story and the beginning of another’ is the beginning of his voice.
For a story that was found in a box in a basement and written by a writer who didn’t remember writing it, I’d say it scrubbed up pretty well; It had the ability to make me laugh and still be on the edge of my seat for those more tenser scenes.
However the question that still remains in the back of my mind is: ‘How does anyone drink 161 miniatures?’ Which are most definitely not complimentary; and most importantly, ‘don’t notice the wig’.
