The Rum Diary

If the subgenre of alcoholic films existed, Bruce Robinson’s directorial debut, Withnail and I, could be held up as a typical example. The British cult comedy about two friends who do everything they possibly can to avoid getting sober is characterised by adjectives such as “coarse” and “decadent”. Even with the best intentions, these modifiers cannot be applied to Robinson’s fourth film. At least not soberly. ___ Hunter S. Thompson naturally somewhat dramatised what he actually witnessed in the Caribbean at the time. Observation is the activity that his cinematic alter ego spends the most time on. His effort to not get too involved and to keep his distance generates most of the conflicts in this boldly undramatic spectacle. Kemp first becomes familiar with the new environment and then tries to understand it, only to find out in the end that he still doesn’t understand. The only plot line that undergoes any development from the beginning, and which relates to the dramatized suspicious businessman Sanderson, fades into nothingness instead of leading to a dramatic denouement. The secondary romantic storyline, which was probably written into the film just for the sake of sneaking in a few shots of Amber Heard, isn’t any more satisfying. ___ The film’s structure has the most in common with the titular diary, in which there is also no rule ensuring that the individual entries are connected to each other. Instead of a cohesive story, we see a series of various obscure incidents, most of which are connected with alcohol and others with drugs and black magic; a rooster and a frog play a role in the most bizarre of them. The protagonist observes the events happening around him, but he doesn’t much interfere in them, rather letting himself be led by other, more substantial characters. The filmmakers somewhat desperately try to save the incoherent narrative with a closing textual explanation, according to which Kemp’s Caribbean drinking has the nature of an initiation, so it would be presumptuous to expect a better-formulated protagonist with a clear goal and motivation. Kemp is only just finding the path that he will follow later in life. ___ At the same time, the final message retroactively explains that the film was intended as a tribute to Thompson. It’s no wonder that, of all the characters, only Kemp exhibits some understanding for the Puerto Ricans’ situation and, instead of listening to the great white man, he stands in opposition to him. He displays foresight by rejecting the cynical colonialist approach in the twilight of colonialism. The contemporary political context of the film is not treated with complete indifference, but like most of the other motifs, it remains only implied and undeveloped. ___ The digression from the already vaguely defined main storyline is the cause of two crucial flaws that make it impossible to just simply enjoy The Rum Diary, namely the inconsistent pace and the incoherent atmosphere, which could be explained away by the filmmakers’ attempt to emulate Thompson’s “gonzo” style. The power of each new emotional experience breaks down the more coherent structure and makes it impossible to work with the pre-defined concept. Due to Kemp’s adventurous nature, the events in Puerto Rico are unpredictable and the film can thus be assigned various genre labels at various times. The variety of genres is also apparent in the heterogeneity of the visual aspect. The postcard-like shots of the landscape contrast with the close-up of Kemp’s bloodshot eyes and the brutal cockfight. The film is simply appealing for a while and then it becomes unpleasantly authentic. ___ The Rum Diary is a dramatically fragmented film without a clearly defined genre and its satisfactory ending is decidedly not a great attraction for viewers. The film goes nowhere, lacks a main theme and is not about anything important. Though it may be an accurate depiction of how the Caribbean affected Thompson in the 1960s, I would be reluctant to describe this load of impressions as a high-quality film. 55% (30.09.2013) (weniger) (mehr)