I don’t drink. I’ve never done drugs. You could probably call me ‘straightedge’, though I don’t really subscribe to any specific philosophy. So what in the world am I doing watching a movie that’s essentially one long acid trip?
Well, curiosity about the experience, partly. If it’s not something you can experience for yourself, maybe it can at least be portrayed well enough that you can get a sense of what it’s like. We’re all familiar with the major drug cliches, but those alone don’t really give you any idea what it would really be like.
The movie follows the adventures of Raoul Duke (a character mostly based on Hunter Thompson himself, played by Johnny Depp), and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro), who are on assignment to write about a motorcross race and a drug enforcement agency convention in Las Vegas. Their assignment is largely irrelevant though, as they spend almost all of their time doing everything else but. In fact there isn’t really much of a plot at all apart from “get wasted, do crazy things.”
It’s all about their experiences. From seeing imaginary bats, to two completely wrecked hotel rooms, to a nonsensical cover story given to a maid, to threats with knives, to an attempt to ditch a far-too-young missionary girl Gonzo picked up, to a music-induced suicide attempt, to a freaked-out hitchhiker they pick up, all while in a distorted frame of mind after consuming every illicit substance known to man, no depth or depravity is left unplumbed. Many of the usual cliches are here, but they don’t feel artificial or forced at all. Although their behaviour is deranged to us as observers, it makes a kind of sense to them in their own little separate universe. Duke’s treatment of people is largely guided by his paranoia, fuelled by his fear of the drug’s effects and the reactions of his fellow partaker Dr. Gonzo.
This is hardly a pro-drug movie, either. Though there is much amusement to be found in their little escapades, there is a large degree of desperation and revulsion to it too. Why would they do this to themselves, getting into these dire straits that any sane person would easily avoid, one wonders. The answer in their case is the primary ‘meaning’ you might get from this movie; their adventures take place as the 70s are arriving and the freedom and idealism of the 60s has died and been replaced by disco and ‘family’ casinos. They’re out of place, and their retreats into drugs are their attempt to escape and recapture that magic of the 60s, except that they lack an ultimate goal to reach. The drugs are the natural gateway back to the 60s, but without some sense of purpose to it and nothing to strive for they only compound their problems and alienate themselves even further, and that is their central tragedy.
I wasn’t there back then of course, and I still can’t feel it for myself, but I think I now understand it slightly better than I did before. If you’re looking for a meaningful plot and complex, heroic characters, you certainly won’t find them here. If you’re looking for a new experience and a bit of reflection though, you won’t be disappointed.
(I don’t know if I’ll do more reviews; I’m just experimenting with this one.)
