No other writer so embodied the grand idealism and the gross self-indulgence of the 1960s counterculture as Thompson. This documentary by Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) looks at his excessive drug consumption, his gun-freakery, the creation of gonzo journalism, the rise of his celebrity and his slow creative decline. Along with contributions from Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Carter and Johnny Depp (who narrates), there is fresh and entertaining archive footage, such as the youthful Thompson appearing as a contestant on the quiz show What’s My Line? - but the film lacks anything really interesting to say about its subject, because it’s the work of a fan who doesn’t ask awkward, and therefore revealing, questions. Why, for example, did Thompson, when he had the chance to confront Richard Nixon, a man he hated more than any other, decide to play it safe and discuss football? The film - at two hours - is too long, and there’s a whole section where Gibney loses sight of his subject as he chronicles the inner workings of George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign. That said, this is a timely reminder of a great American original.

15, 120 mins

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