Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

The legendary Hunter S. Thompson makes for a fascinating, entertaining subject in this latest documentary from Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), and the film provides ample evidence for Thompson's status as 'a durable icon of countercultural bad craziness' (New York Times). Made famous by his invention of 'gonzo' journalism, which combined a chemically fuelled, highly personal and partisan style with an acutely critical grasp of American life and politics, his propensity for excess was a huge part of his public persona.

Gibney's film leaves no doubt about his talent as a writer, with Johnny Depp, an effective narrator, reading extensively from Thompson's works. Nor does it shy away from the self destructive tendencies, or from Thompson's feeling that the celebrity he'd courted became a curse in later years. With a wealth of unmissable archive and home movie footage (I found Thompson's Aspen mayoral campaign a particular treat) and an impressive array of reminiscences from interviewees including Ralf Steadman, Rolling Stone's Jann Werner, Tom Wolfe and Jimmy Carter, as well as wives Sandy and Anita, this glorious trip of a movie captures Thompson's life in all its manifest contradictions.
Sandra Hebron