By Alec Merchant
Staff Writer
Alcohol, women and a vibrantly colored culture fill the world of “The Rum Diary,” which vividly portrays the Caribbean. While it appears intrigueing, the movie fails to provide a sufficient story line to accompany its incredibly talented actors and overly ambitious message.
Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson, “The Rum Diary” follows the life of Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp), a freelance journalist tired of the downtrodden and noisy streets of New York. Paul travels to the tropical island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, the San Juan Star, run by an editor named Lotterman (Richard Jenkins).
The movie delves into the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), wildly attractive and Sanderson’s fiancee (Aaron Eckhart), an entrepreneur trying to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise. When Paul is recruited by Sanderson to write a piece about his latest unsavory scheme, Paul is presented with the choice to benefit the corrupt businessman or to take him and his company down.
Adapted for the screen and helmed by “Withnail and I” director Bruce Robinson, “The Rum Diary” clearly provides a strong anti-establishment message. Focusing too strongly on this message, the film’s plot is largely left behind and forgotten. Depp swoons onscreen but fails to conjure up a convincing and lifelike representation of Kemp, while other supporting roles are completely unnecessary and superflous to the film’s goal.
The director brings nothing new to the film, and takes away some major aspects of the novel. The biggest change is the ommition of Paul’s best friend, Yeamon. This causes the film to seem inauthentic and changes the course of the original story.
Thompson’s “The Rum Diary” was originally written in the early 1960s but was not published until 1998. The book differs from the film due to its message, which is about the fear of growing old and, most importantly, the fear of failure.
While visually stunning with color, effects and the natural beauty of Puerto Rico, along with its sultry female inhabitants, the book’s tale is poorly transformed to the big screen. What is presented on screen is not only too serious and vague, but also feels unnecesarily drawn out.
The movie immediately lost fans because of its depressing attempt to become something sexier and more “Hollywood,” which was not portrayed in the novel. If director Robinson had stuck to the message of the original story, the movie most likely would have been much more appealling to fans of the novel.
Unfazed by the beautiful country of Puerto Rico, Kemp is pathetic and immature in moments throughout the film, leaving audiences unamused and hoping for a change in his confidence. Depp is left onscreen struggling to keep the story alive, while supporting actors such as Heard and Eckhart are merely visual enhancement.
Although the premise of the film seems like there would be a controversial dramatic aspect, it is quite the opposite. The film lacks structure shown by Kemp’s unsustainable desire for the film’s modern take on a femme fatale.
“The Rum Diary” tries to be mature and fun at the same time, resulting in failure. It was unable to evoke any emotional attachments to the characters or provide a worthwhile story. All in all, “The Rum Diary” is nothing more than an average movie.
“The Rum Diary” is rated R and is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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