For No Good Reason | Review

Paul Has Precision But Less Purpose Than Steadman

Anyone familiar with Hunter S. Thompson surely knows the work of his gonzo visual counterpart, Ralph Steadman.  After being plucked from obscurity, the British cartoonist was asked to draft the now iconic images bound within Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and went on to work with Rolling Stone on viscerally political pieces that have graced its pages many times over the past few decades.  His ink splattered masterworks are instantly recognizable, but for many their point of reference remains that mescaline-maniac caricature himself, Mr. Thompson.  Charlie Paul’s directorial debut, For No Good Reason, looks to show Steadman as a man apart, but rather than delving into the artist’s soul, he entertainingly yet shallowly tells the tail of his professional career and the toxic relationship between he and his friend and rival.

Much like last year’s excellent doc on Tomi Ungerer, Far Out Isn’t Far Enough, Paul’s film begins with still illustrations come to beautifully animated life – in this case, from Steadman’s earliest published works, Pioneers, from.  But unlike the in-depth biography of Far Out, For No Good Reason does not pry into Steadman’s personal life.  We are not really privvy to his upbringing, family life or even romantic relations.  Instead, the film centers around a visit from friend and admirer, Johnny Depp, the cinematic embodiment of Hunter himself.  Depp briefly rescinds to the role, reading passages that speak of Steadman and Thompson on the road together, but the purpose of his presence is to inquire about their past and prod about his artistic technique.  Their conversations serve as a conduit to their dysmorphic Kentucky Derby observations to the legendary Rumble in the Jungle misadventure, the pinnacle of their professional miracles and failings, respectively, but Steadman’s portrait is left feeling incomplete.

While their love/hate relationship offers fireworks galore, Paul often falls into vacuous musical montage rather than harvesting the substance of Steadman’s wild tales.  Even the film’s poster and opening credits lean on the various musical acts who’ve lent their tunes – not a consummate sign from a film documenting the life of a visual artist.  Occasionally, these musical montages pair highlights of Steadman’s iconic canon with the visual progress of new artworks via time lapse photography, his odd splash and rub, remove and discover techniques managing to revive the film with his free-wheeling creative crusade.

For No Good Reason has been in the works for fifteen years, but it generally doesn’t feel like it.  Depp’s visit seems like a day trip and the only moments you might notice a significant lapse in time is in the many interviews conducted with associates and admirers like Terry Gilliam or Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, whose recantations appear creatively projected on objects and makeshift screens to mask the technological advances that have occurred over the last decade and half.  While Charlie Paul’s film suffers from a lack of depth and slight-handed editing, it almost transcends some of these ills with its tale of a ‘chalk and cheese’ friendship (in the words of Steadman himself) and Ralph’s unconsciously creative spirit.  Though Steadman doesn’t seem willing to divulge the true reasons for the darkness in his creative impulses, Paul’s film would have been much stronger wielding them.

Reviewed on September 11th at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival – Mavericks Programme. 89 Min.