The Moviegoer: The Rum Diary (Robinson, 2011)

Last updated on: November 17, 2011 at 10:00 am by Nick Olson

The Moviegoer: The Rum Diary (Robinson, 2011) 2011-11-17T10:00:03-07:00 Nick Olson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As far as whimsy goes, Bruce Robinson’s film adaptation of The Rum Diary succeeds intermittently, almost in spite of the film’s protracted duration. But while Depp and company — especially Giovanni Ribisi’s drunken mess of a character — provide some entertaining scenes, the narrative as a whole feels as incoherent as Moburg (Ribisi). Ultimately, the film’s disjointed narrative is too disorienting for us to take seriously its more sobering aims.

Paul Kemp (Depp) is a nomadic journalist looking to solidify his life when he arrives in the Caribbean to write for a second-rate newspaper. Everyone around Kemp seems a mess for one reason or another: his colleagues are laughably incompetent and regularly drunk; his fellow American expatriates living in Puerto Rico are pursuing illegal, greed-driven property gains; and he notices a beleaguered class of island people who are being defrauded so that egoistic elites like Sanderson can thrive. Yet, none of these three strands quite come together in any compelling way.

Perhaps this is because they seem secondary to Kemp’s relatively inconsequential conundrum: a lusty desire for the mysterious and attractive Chenault (Amber Heard), who is the girlfriend of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart), the leading American exploiter of the island. Sanderson has his eye on Kemp because he hopes that some postitve journalism will propel his shady business ambitions. But Kemp has his eye on Chenault from the time she catches him off-guard on a late-night swim. Much of the film centers on the sexual tension between the two wandering souls. Yet, because the nature of their flirtatious relationship is mostly a playful jaunt, the film, too, struggles to maintain any focused purpose, and the rest of Diary‘s narrative threads suffer the consequences.

The film seems almost desperate to say something profound about the American Dream as a veneer covering the reality of the perpetrated evils that are necessary for the Dream to exist. This desperation is nowhere more evident than in Diary‘s overtly scripted antagonists. Sanderson is mostly a bore, uninteresting because his greed and maniacal temperament are so obvious (though Eckhart does the best he can with what he has to work with), while the pack of Americans following his lead are borderline-caricature conservatives. Most detracting from the film’s more serious aims, however, is its protagonist. Kemp seems less concerned with betraying Sanderson’s interest in using his journalistic sway than he is with stealing his voluptuous girlfriend.

So when the seemingly never-ending film finally comes to a close — after all of the thrills, drinking, one-liners, and sexual tension have happened almost haphazardly — the supposed journalistic resolve that Kemp has to spend his life ensuring “the bastards got what was coming to them” feels empty and unaffecting. And it’s not just that the film doesn’t provoke concern through its narrative (it doesn’t), it’s also that we’re not even sure Kemp has the journalistic perception necessary to know who the “bastards” are. His seemingly urgent declaration is incongruous with the oft-distracted meandering that precedes it. Ultimately, Kemp’s supposed newfound purpose feels like more of a façade than the American Dream.

There’s too much rum involved in Kemp’s diary-recorded search for stability for us to take seriously any “voice” that he may have found.

Previous Post

November 17, 2011

Mixed Signals: When Your Free Will Infringes upon Mine

Next Post

November 17, 2011 Eat Your Vegetables: "Days of Heaven"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz