gonzo

From his fascination with firearms to his star-studded funeral-which included a launching of his ashes-Hunter S. Thompson was an epic personality. So it is fitting that, as far as documentaries go, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a frenetic, celebrity-filled affair of grand proportions.

Gonzo takes a straight-forward approach to the biographical documentary, addressing its subject's life chronologically beginning with his Hell's Angels phase. The methods of biography are standard protocol with a flair for the famous. The documentary boasts narration by Johnny Depp and interviews with Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Carter and Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner. Director Alex Gibney also employs Ralph Steadman drawings and clips from the 1998 adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to great effect, charging and animating the story of Thompson's life.

In contrast to the dark tone of Gibney's last two documentaries-Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) and the Oscar-winning, torture-themed Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)-Gonzo is rife with humor. The clips of Thompson at his zaniest play center stage and add the most authenticity to the film.

But Gibney is not afraid of drawing political comparisons between the current politics and the war in Iraq and Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 and Vietnam. While apt and likely to have garnered Thompson's support, some of the parallels presented, such as the juxtaposition of soldiers in Vietnam and Iraq, feel out of place in the film. Gibney simply cannot overcome his political agenda.

Nonetheless, Gibney's portrayal of the father of Gonzo journalism is not all political rants and clips of the always-irreverent Thompson. The film's final act focuses on Thompson's personal demise, which coincided with the critical backlash against Thompson in the seventies and eighties. Interviews with his first wife and son add emotional depth to the documentary. With their accounts, the film reveals a Thompson deeper than the persona, but the film is careful to never present him as a tragic figure.

Gonzo is both a tribute to Thompson and an in-depth look at a man often seen as only an eccentric. No doubt his life story is interesting, but it's the more personal angle that makes Gonzo worth seeing.

-Andrew Hibbard