Life and Work and Hunter S. Thompson (Doc). USA. Directed by Alex Gibney.

From Alex Gibney (Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room; Taxi to the Dark Side), most of the info presented here is available in some form or another so there aren’t necessarily any revelations to be gleaned. With narration by Johnny Depp (who reads passages from Thompson’s work), much of the film is devoted to Thompson’s experiences with The Hells Angels (that became articles and a book); his political campaign for sheriff; and his various (including the famous Fear and Loathing) assignments for Jan Wenner & Rolling Stone. Omitted are specific details of Thompson’s many bouts with the law, although we hear from family and friends about his massive drug and alcohol use and obsession with guns. The gun stuff is disturbing in light of his passionate political viewpoints (many of them surrounding peace & social justice). An interesting question posed by the film is where the human being Hunter S. Thompson, and the costume-wearing jokester Gonzo journalist (AKA) Raoul Duke left off, a dichotomy Thompson actually speaks about, although for only a few seconds. In most severely drug/alcohol-addicted artists lives there is a period of great productivity followed by an inevitable (often very fast) decline. Very few manage to come out the other side. Thompson did his best work in the sixties and seventies. After that, holed up as a recluse on his ranch shooting off the guns (at targets; early fax machines, et al) from his extensive cache, he became largely irrelevant. Whether it was his super-large persona outgrowing his ability to function as a journalist; or his style became out of vogue; or the drugs and booze and general insanity (he was clearly mentally ill) simply overwhelmed him is hard to decipher (maybe all the above?), but there is no real intellectual attempt to delve deep and get answers (perhaps there are none?). We hear from his two wives, collaborators, fellow writers, and politicians, but no one seems to have an answer as to why he remained unreachable. Still, some of the information about his influence on the Carter and McGovern campaigns is fascinating. For a brief period (late sixties to early seventies) Thompson may have been the most influential journalist in the country. What makes him even more important, however, is the fact that this period happens to be among the most vital in this countries history.