The Rum Diary
Dir: Bruce Robinson
2011
****
I think people have been a bit too quick to compare The Rum Diary with Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, yes there are obvious connections - and they work well as companion pieces, they are still very different stories. I think Bruce Robinson handled The Rum Diary perfectly. Casting Depp was a brilliant move, the pace and the serious/humorous balance matched the book perfectly. You should always read the book before seeing the film, but this is as good as an adaptation as you're going to get. People didn't like Fear and loathing when it first came out, citing that even Hunter S. Thompson was against it (not realising that he's actually in it). My point is that no book is unfilmable, it's never the same but as long as it's heart is in the same place, its good. Maybe Bruce Robinson was the only guy who could have pulled this off, I'm thrilled he's making films again anyway. A fitting tribute to the book and its author.