By Sam Watermeier
<[email protected]>

“Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” is a memorial to a man who became a hostage to his persona. By digging underneath the myth and genuinely trying to understand that real man, this film liberates him. “Gonzo” clears up misconceptions about the famous writer Thompson without seeming biased and makes the audience understand aspects of him he did not even understand himself, thus connecting us to him on a deep, personal level.

“Gonzo” is effective in cleaning up Thompson’s bad reputation. With his excessive drug use and attraction to violence (He owned 22 firearms,) Thompson is seen by many as simply a crazy and mischievous figure. The film explains that this image could not be further from the truth. He was a moralist merely “posing as an immoralist.” He was so far from being a troublesome person that he had to experience that lifestyle in order to understand it and write about it (Gonzo journalism). Like he said, “The Edge… there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.” Thompson’s innocence regarding such chaos in the world is very endearing. The film shows that his passion for writing about “the edge” was always more powerful than his passion for living “on the edge,” not vice versa like the film “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” suggests and many people believe. Although it clears up misconceptions, this film never seems overly biased toward Thompson and it is never afraid to show his dark side.

“Gonzo” is unique in its ambiguousness in that it is not completely partial to Thompson because it shows different opinions about him and it lets the audience decide what to think. In his book, “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72,” Thompson made many malicious remarks about presidential candidates. He even said that Ed Muskie was under the influence of a strange Brazilian drug known as Ibogaine. Director Alex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side”) gives two different interpretations of this and shows complete conviction in each. First, he presents this information as funny yet inspiring “freedom of speech” material and shows interviews with people calling Thompson brave and courageous. Then, he cuts to an interview of one of Thompson’s friends accusing him of being infantile and sometimes too insensitive in the way he spoke his mind. Gibney, unlike other documentarians (Michael Moore mostly), allows the audience to expand their minds and think about the subject in two different lights. He knows that Thompson is a flawed man and he does not hide that fact. Thompson also knew he was flawed, but he never came to grips with that and the film reveals information that would have helped him understand.

The film’s healing information Thompson was ignorant toward makes his death all the more tragic. Thompson was always “searching for the American Dream.” In fact, on his infamous trip to Vegas which inspired the book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” he interviewed random people asking them where he could find the American Dream. It frustrated him to no end that he could not find the answer. Sadly, he did not realize that he was living the dream the entire time. He was a part of history, making a huge impact with his writing and making a living doing what he loved, surrounded by people that loved and supported him. This makes his suicide even more perplexing.

This is an incredibly intimate documentary. In its personal quality, it reminds us of the magic of movies. It reminds us that in 2 hours, you can see someone’s entire life unfold and you can relate to them on a deeply emotional level.

Grade: A
Rated: Not Rated