Review of Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) by Nathan H — 05 Apr 2009

"Gonzo" really impressed me, focusing not only on Thompson as an artist and writer, but also on the time period that spawned him, and on the effects of his work on the time period around him.

Along with the '60s Revolutionary Trilogy ("The Weather Underground," "Sir! No, Sir!" and "Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst"), this film also offers a unique insight into that strange moment of American history--that blink of an eye--when the wave of counter-culture had risen as high as it would go, when anything seemed possible, when the hippies and the protesters and the Hell's Angels and the Berkeley intellectuals and the revolutionary groups all seemed on the verge of making some tremendous change in the American culture...only to suddenly crash down upon themselves.

It's a uniquely American tragedy, the idea of raw potential suddenly defeating itself, and against this context, "Gonzo" traces Hunter S. Thompson's rise and self-defeat. The film seems to argue (and it's a convincing argument) that Thompson was the poster boy, the representative of the entire era, a man who could have done great things but, when all was finished, wound up only as a caricature. Much like the hippies, the Hell's Angels, and the Weather Underground, Thompson became a cartoon figure in the end, and the moments in "Gonzo" that show the Duke character in "Doonesbury" (and Thompson's reaction) are a truly sad ending.