I read Hunter Thompson’s work in a course called “Creative Non-Fiction.” Our studies began with The New Journalism writers as it was they who broke the barriers of reportage to tell stories that included the look, feel and ambiance of the room and their subjects. The style is much emulated today but rarely executed with the freshness of Thompson, Capote and Wolfe’s heydays. I’ve been wanting to see Alex Gibney’s Gonzo: The Life & Times of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson in hopes that it might somehow help me connect with Thompson on the level of realism. Who is this man? How did he write like that? The film delivers a healthy realism, but not without a heaping dose of signature Thompson flare.

The first few minutes looked very cartoony with some wierd After Effects experiments, and I was thinking that I was in big trouble if the whole movie was going to be like that. In some sense, it was, but it really started to work as the movie went on. The best part of the film is the extensive archival material recorded by Thompson and his friends–both audio and film, in addition to copious amounts of photographs of the late writer. It’s interesting how people who are so famous within their own lives are so well documented. It really helps when the movie about their life is going to be made.