Hunter S. Thompson's "The Rum Diary" opens to mixed reviews
(CBS) "The Rum Diary," the film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's debut novel starring Johnny Depp, opened Friday to mixed reviews.
The film follows American journalist Paul Kemp (Depp) who grows tired of New York and travels to Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper in 1950s. There Kemp adopts the Caribbean lifestyle, rum and all, and becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), who is engaged to wealthy American entrepreneur Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart).
The Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday praised the film saying, "As a posthumous valentine to his old friend Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp's adaption of "The Run Diary" exudes a cherry, beery sense of warmth and affection."
USA Today critic Claudia Puig agrees, stating the closeness between the actor and the author before Thompson's death shows in Depp's ability to fully become his character.
"Depp adroitly captures the "gonzo" spirit of the journalist/author/ingester of many substances," Puig says. "Much of the dialogue's offbeat wit seems to come straight from Thompson's book. That distinctive dialogue is the movie's greatest asset."
But the movie also had negative reviews.
New York Post critic Kyle Smith wrote, "Paul may be played by one of the most charismatic actors alive, but for the most part, he is just another boozy hack."
Other critics agree with Smith, criticizing the film's lack of direction.
"It flirts with becoming a great journalism tale, or at least a whimsical journalism tale, but that vein leads nowhere, too," wrote Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle. "Nor is it much of anything else, except a disordered ramble through Thompson's creative imagination."
Paul Kemp is not the first Thompson characters Depp has played. He starred in the film adaptation of Thompson's book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."