USAToday
Claudia Puig
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a mesmerizing look at the mythic quality and anarchic spirit of the irreverent and rabble-rousing journalist.
Larger than life - no, higher than life - Thompson collected people and drew such disparate admirers as Jimmy Carter and Pat Buchanan. Director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) probes how Thompson's persona nearly eclipsed the real man, a highly talented writer and a deeply tortured soul who lived on the edge - before that notion became a cliché- and shot himself in 2005 at the age of 67.
Gonzo is not just a fascinating portrait of an enigmatic and charismatic figure, but a serious examination of the social and political milieu in which he flourished. Thompson wrote compelling articles in the early days of Rolling Stone that brought an original, candid voice and subversive edge to political journalism. The film also explores a time - the late '60s through the mid-'70s - when individual journalists had the power to effect political and social change.
From interviews with Thompson's first wife, his widow and his son Juan, we get a view of the troubled man. From such politicians as George McGovern and Gary Hart, we get a look at Thompson's place in socio-political history. His work was often a hybrid of clear-eyed reporting and flights of fantasy.
"We were all amused by him," says McGovern. "Nobody was writing like that."
Thompson himself is quoted in an interview as saying, "Most people are surprised I walk on two legs." He spoke of his distress at becoming a caricature, a prisoner of his own fame.
"The myth has taken over," he laments in a recording. "I am no longer necessary."
The film also probes the outrageous behavior that made him famous for challenging and mocking the establishment.
Colleagues such as Tom Wolfe detail Thompson's days with the Hell's Angels and Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters. Friends including Jimmy Buffett describe Thompson's infectious spirit as well as his infuriating habits.
"We could have used a few more years of Hunter," says Buffet. "He could have wielded a pretty effective sword against what's going on right now."
In his later years, the outlaw writer didn't wield swords as much as collect guns. He amassed 22, all fully loaded and kept at his Colorado home.
The film never reveals what drove his fits of anger and obsession with firearms, though to Gibney's credit, he acknowledges Thompson was an "agonized human being" but avoids superficial speculation.
Johnny Depp's narration is a highlight. He reads several passages from Thompson's work, illuminating the Kentucky-born writer's gifts. The film takes a while to take off, but once it does, it is nothing short of captivating. It would have been good to learn more about what tormented Thompson besides a fatherless childhood and decades of storied drug use. Perhaps the massive amounts of drugs he ingested were not mere self-indulgence, but an effort to self-medicate his anxious psyche. In either case, drugs fueled his image and informed his work, arguably more than any other writer in recent times.
Gonzo is not just for Thompson fans, though they will undoubtedly find it illuminating. It's for anyone interested in art, human nature and political history.
In the immortal words of the doctor himself, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."
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