Synopsis
For No Good Reason a film about Ralph Steadman. Johnny Depp guides the visually stunning journey, smashing narrative conventions, moving seamlessly from interview to animation and in the finest Gonzo tradition questions of witness and authenticity are challenged. Steadman's art is for the first time animated, including illustrations from Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas. Featuring Richard E Grant, Terry Gilliam, Bruce Robinson and with music from Slash, The All American Rejects, Jason Mraz, Crystal Castles, Ed Hardcourt and Beth Orton. A touching and at times funny film about honesty, friendship and the ambition driving an artist. This is a true record of the demise of the 20th Century counterculture and hipster dream with Ralph Steadman the last of the Gonzo visionaries.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Ralph SteadmanSelf
- Hunter S. ThompsonSelf (archive footage)
- Terry GilliamSelf
- Richard E. GrantSelf
- Jann WennerSelf
- Johnny DeppSelf
- Francis BaconSelf (archive footage)
- William S. BurroughsSelf (archive footage)
Recommendations
- 75
USA Today
Narrated by Johnny Depp, a portrait emerges of an anarchic, humble spirit who now fears becoming "a visual polluter." - 70
Village Voice
It's a film that paints a potent portrait of an artist of righteous, controlled fury. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The inventively shot and constructed documentary For No Good Reason is an absorbing look at the unique, surreal work of British cartoonist Ralph Steadman. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
The story is rich in juicy anecdotes and epochal events, even if the man behind these striking images remains a little too elusive throughout. - 58
The A.V. Club
Early on, Steadman talks about his humor needing to have a “slightly maniacal” edge. For No Good Reason has no such thing; it’s gently informative and amusing the whole way through. - 50
Slant Magazine
Charlie Paul isn't content to let his stock footage and interviewees lead for him, driven as he is to "make something out of a frame of mind," though to needlessly busy effect. - 50
The Dissolve
For No Good Reason is an absolute mess from start to finish, a portrait of an artist that’s almost rendered redundant by his art. And yet, for all its failings, the film is engagingly in tune with the man who inspired it. - 50
Variety
While the effort is admirable, the result is a bit unwieldy, casting too wide a net to really plumb its subject’s depths, and defanging some of Steadman’s acid wit with an overly busy, hit-and-miss aesthetic approach.
