Film Review: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas vs. Delicatessen

*Warning some spoiler alerts if you haven’t watched them before…

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas is actually an adaptation from a book called ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream’. It is an autobiographical story  that follows its main protagonist, a journalist called ‘Raoul Duke’ and his attorney ‘Dr Gonzo’ as they descend to Las Vegas to chase the American dream, through a drug induced haze. The film lacks a clear narrative and frequently delves into the surreal, never quite distinguishing between what is real and what is only imagined by the characters. The purpose of there visit to Las Vegas was to attend a ‘mint 400 motorcycle race’ because Duke has been assigned by a magazine to write an article on it. However, they soon become sidetracked and use the trip as a chance to purchase a large amount of drugs and rent a Cadillac convertible on a wacky road-trip. This leads to a series of bizarre hallucinogenic trips, during which they destroy hotel rooms, wreck cars and have weird psychedelic illusions.