Alex Gibney’s “Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” captures the good doctor in his younger days, before madness filled the corners and crannies. Gibney’s responsible for some piercing, essential documentaries, such as “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and the Oscar-winning “Taxi to the Dark Side,” as well as “No End in Sight” (as producer). While it’s a strong choice to downplay the diminished years of Thompson, some early imagery attempting to make the 1960s parallel with the madness of the early twenty-first century is superficial. Yet in orotund readings from Thompson pal (and alter ego as well as fellow son of the Commonwealth of Kentucky) Johnny Depp and in recordings of Thompson at his gonzo-est, “Gonzo” sings the body lysergic. At the end of the movie, a lovely skyrocket ascends the sky in honor of the forthcoming Fourth of July. “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me”: maybe not a philosophy, but certainly a life. With Gary Hart, George McGovern, Jann Wenner, Jimmy Buffett, Jimmy Carter. 119m. (Ray Pride)
Chicago Salvation: Life, Movies And Uptown's Hurricane Billy A maker of hard-to categorize films, William Friedkin forged a career in his own way, fueled by arrogance, boastfulness, bravado, confidence, self-assurance and moral questioning, a Chicago working-class autodidact who grew up poor in Uptown.
