Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- irreverent
- boozy
- late night viewing
- literary adaptation marathon
What critics said
Critics generally found the film colorful and amiable, with Johnny Depp's commitment evident, but considered its rambling source material insufficiently focused.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Sanderson recruits Paul to promote investors' plan to buy an island and build a resort near San Juan.
Paul is hired to write tourist pieces and horoscopes but becomes entangled in the newspaper's collapse and the developers' agenda.
Paul and Sala are habitual drinkers, and alcohol repeatedly shapes their relationships, decisions, and troubles.
San Juan's carnival, protests, rundown apartments, newspaper office, and elite resort schemes create a colorful atmosphere of menace and disorder.
Films like The Rum Diary, and why
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
shares a Hunter s thompson adaptation, johnny depp lead, intoxicated antihero, and satirical counterculture atmosphere
Withnail & I
shares boozy literary comedy, outsider friendship, irreverent male camaraderie, and a disreputable social world
The Big Lebowski
shares a morally slippery protagonist, darkly comic misadventure, alcohol-fueled chaos, and resistance to respectable society
Movie Details
- Director
- Bruce Robinson
- Release Date
- 2011-10-13
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (1369)
Cast
- Johnny Depp
- Amber Heard
- Aaron Eckhart
- Michael Rispoli
- Giovanni Ribisi
- Richard Jenkins
- Amaury Nolasco
- Marshall Bell
- Bill Smitrovich
- Julian Holloway
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Rum Diary about?
- A hard-drinking reporter navigates a collapsing San Juan newspaper, predatory developers, and his own compromised loyalties.
- What is The Rum Diary like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Rum Diary as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Rum Diary violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Rum Diary as mild.
- What did critics think of The Rum Diary?
- Critics generally found the film colorful and amiable, with Johnny Depp's commitment evident, but considered its rambling source material insufficiently focused.
- Which films are like The Rum Diary?
- Films with a similar feel include Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Withnail & I, and The Big Lebowski.
- How long is The Rum Diary?
- The Rum Diary runs 120 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Rum Diary?
- In United States, The Rum Diary is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex.
