Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: GONZO GIRL [Tribeca Film Festival 2025 - New York, NY]
The aspect of greatness sometimes can be mired in persona. The one aspect that resounds through "Gonzo Girl" [Member Exclusive] is the idea of the execution of an idea and its actual accomplishment. Directed by Patricia Arquette and adapted and fictionalized in certain ways from a novel by Cheryl Della Pietra who was an assistant to Hunter S. Thompson in the early 90s, the film skews certain ideas while embracing others. It is a medium on fame in many points but also the excess that sometimes isn't quite a means to an end but a way to pass the time. Granted Thompson played here as the character of Walker with manic aplomb by Willem Dafoe is every bit the madman that this person has heard stories of. But all this comes from a certain place. Dafoe brings that balance but he is having a lot of fun playing it. The focal point of view though is of Alley (Camila Morrone) playing Cheryl in so many words. In an essence of fame, Morrone's visibility was as a recent girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio. Obviously a model in her own right, her focus rings true (as does her beauty) but she does have an innate relaxation with the camera that maybe Liv Tyler as a comparative didn't quite have. Granted she is playing on screen with Dafoe and by extension Arquette as his handler.
The film is of course mired in the sexism of the day but Arquette embraces in some ways (without condoning it). What is interesting thinking back is around this time Dafoe had just worked with Arquette's now ex-husband Nicolas Cage in "Wild At Heart" and she herself was making "True Romance" but to see them integrated together (and even Sean Penn in an extended cameo) is a travelogue of an interesting time. "Gonzo Girl" is not a new story in certain ways though its specific tonality is. It is rite of passage but a more modern one of sorts from two women who have seen it. They don't fully criciticize it but they don't condone it either. All the characters here are out for themselves. Adding Ray Nicholson (son of Jack) also adds another layer and he and Morrone do share a significant chemistry. That said, this film is a recut of the original cut that played TIFF in 2022. Arquette went back and re-cut the film so now it plays 11 minutes shorter apparently. The film is an interesting watch for sure with a variety of interesting performances. Of course the fact that names are changed (there is actually a special thank you at the end of the credits to Anita Thompson) is a point that maybe reflecting in a lack of distribution but all those speculations are internal and hard to know. But "Gonzo Girl" is a reflection of a certain moment in time through people that were there and saw it...and capturing that is of course a credit in and of itself. B
By Tim Wassberg
