Willem Dafoe in Gonzo Girl @TIFF 2023

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has already made Hunter S. Thompson the legend that he is. Gonzo Girl might be the film that shows a much-needed other perspective of the legendary Gonzo writer. Patricia Arquette is set to make her directorial debut in this adaptation of Cheryl Della Pietra‘s semi-autobiographical novel. It chronicles the time she spent with the drug-fuelled visionary when she served as a personal assistant. Willem Dafoe plays the adapted Hunter S. Thompson character, Walker Reade, which has to be one of Dafoe’s craziest roles yet.

Written in 2015 and survived a three-day period with Hunter S. Thompson, Cheryl Della Pietra’s rendition was cinematic. It was a “three-day trial period involving a .44 magnum, purple-pyramid acid, violent verbal outbursts, brushes with fame and the law, a bevy of peacocks, and a whole lot of cocaine,” according to Della Pietra.

Walker Reade

Walker Reade who in the early ’90s hides out in the mountains trying to revive his readership. He is under scrutinous pressure from the public, his publicist and those who hang on to his life like a thread such as Rick Springfield who makes an appearance in the film. Also coming behind the camera and into the front is Patricia Arquette who plays Reade’s longtime manager.

Along comes Alley Russo played by Camila Morrone who survives being Reade’s personal assistant after a fleury of them tried and left. What made her stand out and have more staying power than the others is she started to write about her own experience with Reade. This in fact inspires Reade’s volatile nature and has him focus on writing his next piece. The fact remains that he has not written anything good in the past 15 years.

This article is sponsored by AG Group Enterprise Inc