The Rum Diary
5.9/10
Rating
120 min
Runtime
2011
Release Year
Bruce Robinson
Director
Cast
Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Giovanni Ribisi
Quick Synopsis
In the late 1950s, journalist Paul Kemp leaves behind the chaos of New York City and the restrictive social norms of America during the Eisenhower era to take a job at a newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico, managed by the weary editor Lotterman. Immersed in the island's vibrant but alcohol-fueled lifestyle reminiscent of Hemingway's 'Lost Generation,' Paul becomes involved with a captivating American woman and her fiancé, a businessman engaged in questionable real estate deals. Through these experiences, Paul gains a clearer sense of his identity both as a writer and as a person.
Detailed Synopsis of The Rum Diary
Tired of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, itinerant journalist Paul Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local San Juan newspaper run by the downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked lifestyle of the late ‘50s version of Hemingway’s 'The Lost Generation', Paul soon becomes entangled with a very attractive American woman and her fiancée, a businessman involved in shady property development deals. It is within this world that Kemp ultimately discovers his true voice as a writer and integrity as a man.
