( CNN ) -- Hunter S. Thompson 's slim early novel -- written in 1959 , when he was 22 , but only published 40 years later -- gets a dream screen treatment courtesy of producer-star Johnny Depp and `` Withnail and I '' writer-director Bruce Robinson . By rights Depp -- who already played Thompson 's alter-ego Raoul Duke in Terry Gilliam 's grandly grotesque `` Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas '' -- should be too old to play the latest recruit on a failing American newspaper in San Juan , Puerto Rico . But even when he 's hung over and wretched ( which is often ) he easily passes for 30 , the age of the book 's `` Paul Kemp . '' Of course the fact that this engagingly left field movie has spent three years on the shelf helps . When Kemp washes up in San Juan , his greatest literary achievement is his resume . He 's promptly put on the astrology desk . But he 's hungry to make a name for himself , which gives him an edge over his pickled colleagues . It 's enough to attract the patronage of local wheeler-dealer Sanderson ( Aaron Eckhart ) , a property developer who has big plans for the island -- and his eye-catching girlfriend , Chenault ( Amber Heard ) . It would be an exaggeration to call `` The Rum Diary '' a dry run for `` Fear and Loathing '' ( and `` dry '' was n't really in Thompson 's vocabulary , though Kemp does make vain promises to cut back on the hard stuff from time to time ) . Still , in Depp and Robinson 's hands you ca n't miss the roots of Gonzo . This is more than ever the portrait of the artist as a young man -- fermented , refined and distilled from the book . Compared to his cartoonish Raoul Duke ( or his Jack Sparrow ) Depp 's agreeably deadpan performance is scaled back several notches , though it 's hard to think of another movie heartthrob who uses his body to such clownish effect when the occasion arises . Frequently shuttered behind a slick pair of shades , Kemp is a stranger in paradise and not quite sure of his bearings yet . He 's an avid observer trying to figure out where a real writer might fit between the stinking shantytowns and the shiny luxury beach houses . Robinson has no doubts about which side he 's on in that fight , and smuggles in pertinent asides on the parlous state of today 's heavily mortgaged newspaper business . Vibrantly photographed by Dariusz Wolski , the movie lays on the local color with gusto -- we get fighting cocks , voodoo and carnival - but we also see broken down plumbing , simmering racial tension , permanent flop sweat and killer lines like Sanderson 's , after Kemp marvels at the beauty of the place : `` It 's God 's idea of money . '' Admittedly Kemp 's picaresque misadventures do n't add up to much of a plot -- the wheels come off in a climax that slouches off miserably in search of some future happy ending -- but there 's so much to enjoy along the way , the movie 's delayed release is hard to fathom . Depp 's easy rapport with Michael Rispoli , as photographer/sidekick Sala , is a low-key delight . I loved the way Aaron Eckhart 's imperious uber-confidence slips where Chenault is concerned ; and even anomalies like a jewel-encrusted tortoise ... `` I got the idea from a book , '' Sanderson explains -- as if it did . Bruce Robinson has never topped the riotous comic miserabilism of his first film , the cult classic `` Withnail and I '' -- he 's never even come close -- but `` The Rum Diary '' might be considered hair of the dog after a 24-year-long career hangover . He 's back in his debauched and debunking element , which is reason enough to celebrate .
Depp 's agreeably deadpan performance is scaled back several notches . The movie lays on the local color with gusto . Depp 's easy rapport with Michael Rispoli is a low-key delight .