The story begins abruptly, out in the desert en route to the resort of Las Vegas. The author uses a tense hitchhiker as a mode, or an excuse, for a flashback that exposes the plot. An uncertain character picked up in the middle of the desert who Raoul Duke, the main character, feels the need to explain things to, to help him rest easy. They had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers. Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser ...view middle of the document...
The list featured Cameron Diaz, Cristina Ricci, Gary Busey, Lyle Lovett, Verne Troyer, Penn Jillette, Michael Jeter, and Flea (Red Hot Chilli Peppers). Contrary to other book-to-screen translations such as Jurassic Park, where the entire plot line was compromised, the film of Fear and Loathing does the book justice and, occasionally, reads straight from the novel itself. Starring Johnny Depp (as Duke) and Benico Del Toro (Dr. Gonzo, Duke's attorney and confidant), the film is an account of what the early seventies in the western United States were like.The story is split into two parts: covering the Mint 400 in part one, and the National District Attorneys' Conference in part two. The Duke and his attorney experiment with mutable drugs on an adventure through time and space living the american dream. While the movie stays fairly consistent to the book through the first part, the second half lost sight due to the book's confusion.Experienced director Gilliam has does an excellent job with flashbacks and wholesome confusion in movies like 12 Monkeys and Time bandits and fear and loathing is no different. The only thing better than the acting of Johnny Depp is the directing of Gilliam. The storyline seems to job all over the place on this almost believable adventure. He makes you think. And entices you change in your life.
