In Alex Gibney’s latest unflinching documentary, “Gonzo,” he turns the focus on Hunter S. Thompson, an American visionary/writer like no other, stooped in misunderstanding and ineffably at war with himself, the world around him and an invisible enemy – with a rock star persona meaning he was not above throwing typewriters out of hotel room windows. Part homage lingering on reminiscing and part rollercoaster journey of discovery in terms of exploring the unknown side of the “walking monument to misbehaviour,” Gibney pushes the envelope, going a little over the edge, and in a sense, it is as though Thompson’s spirit was infused into this fascinating arc detailing Hunter when he still thought he was invincible and when he later realised that he was only human, albeit an unusual one.

As with any “great” public figure, Hunter had his peak years, filled with drugs, sex and alcohol, and his inescapable downfall, and the documentary starts with his death which occurred in 2005, in his home in Woody Creek, Colorado. This was when Hunter was at his most erratic, when his creative juices ceased to flow, when he was no longer able to bring himself over the edge and live up to the Gonzo myth. He had always planned to kill himself at the age of thirty by means of a gun, death tools he had a childlike absorption in, and the fact that he did not kill himself until the age of 67 meant that he was living on “borrowed time.” His death came as a surprise to no one, and his son Juan even called it “a warm family moment.” Just like his life, one can perceive his death any which way you please, that is Hunter’s gift to us all, packaged colourfully in Gibney’s film. Gibney’s usage of iconic photographs and paintings by or of Hunter gives the film its distinctive look, one where the parallels of Hunter’s existence are filtered through the gauze of reality, and the result is a mixture of the surreal and vividly existing.

Hunter’s written words are used for the narration of the film by Johnny Depp (who played Hunter in the film “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” with clips from that film used extensively and more effectively in this documentary than they were in Terry Gilliam’s film) and featuring declarations, lyrical portraits and some of the most amusing and heartfelt testimonies and memorials by former United States President Jimmy Carter, George McGovern, Ralph Steadmen, Sonny Barger, Tom Wolfe and Sondi Wright to name a few. With these various in-depth portraitures from his closest friends, colleagues and even enemies, a perfectly well-rounded image of Hunter is painted of not just the man behind the groundbreaking journalism techniques, but the man himself, with ink and ambition running so deep in his veins it was hard for him to function at a level society deems “normal.”

“His great advantage—no one was paying attention to him,” says Pat Caddell, a member of the McGovern political campaign back in the seventies. Hunter, who worked as a political correspondent for the once-great “Rolling Stone” magazine in 1972, was more than fond for McGovern, he saw him as the key to the rejuvenation of the American Dream, and McGovern is sort of made out to be something of a saint in the doc, which is an interesting take on the man. Hunter grew famous for his political works, infusing himself into his stories, living in the action, and enabling himself to narrate the story by means of first person coverage, but with a little more personality and emotion that blatant news reporting. This was the “Gonzo Edge,” which he perfected in his coverage, with Ralph Steadman, of the Kentucky Derby.

He rode alongside the infamous outlaws, Hell’s Angels, for over a year, and painted a picture, in his novel “Hell’s Angels,” so stark and honest of the lawless bikers that they were not amused. Sonny Berger, a now aged member of the “Angels,” says that Hunter was “a jerk, but a very good writer.” Hunter’s fame and recognition soared into realms that maverick journalists were not used to, but he longed for more. As his drug-induced paranoia and madness grew, his wife and son could not take it any more, and his out-of-control lifestyle made his writing, which he was famous for, suffer and his productivity more and more erratic. His success led to his imminent failure, but his revolutionary works of art will propel the memory of Hunter into an eternal standing. The world he strived to change many years ago is so strikingly similar to today’s world, and the fact that Hunter’s opinions are still resonant today stems from the fact that he was ahead of his time, for example, he predicted exactly what would happen after 9/11, and he knew that America would never be the same after Nixon was re-elected. He knew what he was writing about, and he did it with as much flair and perception as any other “great” writer in history.

Hunter suffered the fate he always wanted to avoid – his public persona defined who he was rather than his writing – but Gibney’s documentary brings the focus onto Hunter as a whole, a man of pure greatness born in a confused yet spirited time, in a landscape filled with the unpredictable need for change. From beginning to end, “Gonzo” is as razor sharp as anything Gibney has done before, and unlike the remains of Hunter, which now float in the air above his Colorado property, but similar to his finite words that he was unable to take with him when he died; the film is a tragic almost-masterpiece about a true genius who saw things for what they were and only wanted make a difference. One can only ask the question, “Where is today’s Hunter S. Thompson?” but the film wisely strays from asking such blatant questions, and leaves it up to the viewer to ponder in frustration.

Fatac Rating: ***½

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Written and Directed by Alex Gibney. Featuring: Johnny Depp, Sonny Barger, Tom Wolfe, Sondi Wright, Jimmy Carter, Pat Buchanan, George McGovern, Ralph Steadman, Douglas Brinkley, Jann Wenner, Tim Crouse, Juan Thompson, George Stranahan, Bob Braudis, Charles Perry, Oscar Acosta, Jimmy Buffett, Pat Caddell, Gary Hart, Anita Thompson. Running Time: 118 minutes. Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. [B]