![]() ![]() It’s as if the filmmakers thought that they could counterbalance every three scenes of exposition or heavy-handed social commentary with arbitrary gags. ![]() Each time the narrative attempts to progress to something more complex, the film jumps to some superfluous scene about cock-fighting or a bit of self-sabotaging comedic relief. To start with, the movie takes far too long to set up its characters and their motivations. ![]() But instead of being immersive and illuminating, the film’s meandering comes across more as mere aimlessness. A movie can, of course, create meaningful characters and develop a rich universe without a serious plot, and that is clearly the film’s aspiration. The biggest issue in “The Rum Diary” is narrative. ![]() The formula is promising but ultimately lacks both depth and direction, and comes off more like a flawed imitation of the Thompson aesthetic than a fully realized tribute. Johnny Depp is cast as Paul Kemp, a hard-drinking journalist in the Caribbean, with Aaron Eckhart as Sanderson, a shady businessman who attempts to co-opt Kemp’s coverage for personal gain. Thompson, sets itself up as a cinematic love letter to the prolific writer’s persona-a characteristically drug-fueled wild ride through the vibrant jungles of 1960s Puerto Rico. “The Rum Diary,” based on the novel by the late author and iconoclast Hunter S. ![]()
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