Directed by Patricia Arquette, Gonzo Girl is based on Cheryl Della Pietra’s book of the same name. Pietra briefly worked as an assistant to the father of Gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson, and the experience, as she has described it, was ‘life-altering.’ She journaled her days living with Hunter, and ‘Gonzo Girl,’ as the name suggests, is directly inspired by her time as Hunter’s assistant. Gonzo journalism is all about the author/reporter becoming an integral part of the story they’re covering. They are essentially the protagonists, and the rules of traditional journalism are mostly disregarded. Hunter S. Thompson, one of the forefathers of the New Journalism movement, was responsible for the popularization of the Gonzo style.
In the film, Alley Russo, an aspiring writer, was completely mesmerized by Walker Reade. She looked up to him as a writer, and when she figured out he was going to stop by at a library in New York, she called in her shift to attend his reading session. He was full of energy, just like she’d perhaps predicted, but she was unimpressed by his answers. Walker noticed her, and even though their conversation was brief, his manager thought Alley had it in her to be his assistant. She was surprised but also glad that such an opportunity came her way. To spend time with the writer she admired was quite a dream come true, and anything related to writing was better than her bartender gig. Alley arrived at Walker’s ranch with big dreams, high expectations, and the hope of turning her dream of becoming a writer into reality.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Alley start rewriting Walker’s manuscript?
Soon after arriving at Walker’s ranch, Alley figured out that everyone in the room had a role to play. Devaney was Walker’s “up for everything girlfriend,” Claudia, his manager, was almost like his dead mother, who admired Walker, but at the same time there were moments when she was overcome by exhaustion, and Larry, a Hollywood actor who’d bought the movie rights to one of his books, wanted to be around Walker to study his every move. And Alley couldn’t help but wonder what her role would be. Walker preferred writing after 2 in the morning, and Alley stayed awake, hoping that he felt inspired enough to write a few pages of his new book. But she noticed that Walker was always distracted. He was ready to do anything but write. Most of his days were spent doing drugs and alcohol, and he could barely form a coherent sentence. She figured that at this rate there was no way they could publish the book.
One night, while going through one of Walker’s pages, Alley decided to rewrite a paragraph. She had been spending a lot of time with him. She pretty much did whatever he asked of her. From wearing a tennis dress to doing cocaine and LSD after one the other because he insisted. She was under the impression that if she was open to new experiences, maybe Walker would keep his end of the bargain and write a few pages worth mailing to his editor. When things didn’t work out as planned, Alley wrote a couple of pages and faxed them to the editor without consulting Walker. The editor, Lionel, approved it, and she felt all the more confident to continue rewriting most of Walker’s manuscript.
There was no way she could get away with it; after all, Walker would go through the manuscript before it was published, but even then she couldn’t stop herself from writing. She felt validated when her written words were approved, and she started to believe that if she tried, she could tap into the kind of writing Walker produced a few years ago. When Lionel pressured Walker to deliver the complete manuscript within six weeks, Alley felt all the more compelled to write on behalf of Walker. If he failed to write the book, everyone around him would lose money, and Alley assumed this was a better way to deal with the situation. She incorporated a lot of their conversations, Walker’s personal life, particularly all that he’d said about his mother, into the book. Alley, for the first time, experienced the thrill of writing a manuscript that was close to being published. Her best friend, Rose, warned her that she was playing with fire, but Alley didn’t care. Rose noticed how sickly Alley looked because of the constant drug and alcohol abuse, but Alley strongly believed that was the only way she could get into Walker’s mind.
What led to Alley’s outburst?
During a party, Alley hooked up with Larry. He seemed to be into her, and while she was initially a little hesitant, she ultimately admitted that she was drawn to him. Alley begged Larry to not let their secret out, and he promised to not discuss their fling with anyone. The next morning, Alley could sense that Walker was displeased with her conduct. Devaney passed comments on Alley’s affair with Larry, and even though she didn’t feel like joining Walker and Devaney in the pool, Walker insisted. Alley started to see the cracks forming in what she initially believed was her dream life. Living up to Walker’s every whim and wish was not easy, and Alley started to feel exploited at the ranch. When she returned to her room, she saw Devaney going through her things. She was envious of Alley and Walker’s friendship, and she wanted to prove to him that Alley was backstabbing him. Not that Devaney was happy being with Walker, but just like everyone else on the ranch, she didn’t know any better, and the idea of living in the presence of a genius fascinated her.
When Alley tried to discuss the situation with Walker, he casually held a gun to his head, pulled the trigger, but it clicked on empty, the incident left her completely terrified. Walker asked her if she truly wanted to spend her days in the presence of a coke-addicted madman just to feel relevant, and Alley whispered that maybe that was the case. She was trying to find a meaning to her existence, and she had started to believe that completing Walker’s book was her life’s goal. She was devastated when Walker added that the only reason Larry slept with her was because she was his assistant and she was his only way to feel sexually close to Walker. He reduced her romantic experience into a meaningless transaction that barely had anything to do with her. But even then, with a smile on her face, Alley decided to put up with him. She offered to make him a Manhattan, and while they were in his study room, he made a move on her. She resisted at first, but he went ahead. She perhaps wondered if he was doing it to simply claim her body after the whole Larry incident, or to make her feel less of herself since he’d mentioned that one simply cannot become famous by getting intimate with someone famous. Maybe Alley too craved his affection, or perhaps in that moment she realized that she was faking it just for his approval. Alley left the room, and the incident left her confused and emotional. She didn’t know what she was doing anymore. She didn’t wish to end up like Claudia, who was possibly Walker’s girlfriend at one point in time, but had never dared to leave. She had simply accepted that not everyone was meant to be a main character, and she was happy with the special mentions and the occasional credit she got for her work.
The next morning, when Alley woke up, she found out that her journal was missing from her room. It was obvious that Claudia and Walker had taken it away so that the incident from the previous night never became public knowledge. Before she started living on the ranch, she was made to sign an NDA, so she was legally bound not to disclose anything that she experienced during her time there. While she had learned a little about his craft, there was no denying that Walker was quite persistent about her trying drugs, and he was responsible for Alley’s deteriorating health. There was an overall expectation of complete submission, and at one point, in Alley’s case, he had turned abusive. The man she idolized repeatedly demeaned her and tried to exert dominance by attempting to get sexually intimate with her, and Alley didn’t know how to feel about the whole situation. Her journal was gone, and Claudia stated that she would only return it when Alley would leave the ranch, though she immediately added that anything that was written during her assistantship was essentially their property.
Claudia demanded Alley pick up the drugs from Walker’s trusted dealer. When she mentioned she was not comfortable doing it, Claudia pressured her and added that she might as well buy some garlic on the way. The statement hinted at the fact that Claudia knew Walker had made a move on Alley, and she was disgusted to find out that Walker had discussed the entire episode with Claudia. On her way back from the dealer, a police car stopped Alley. She was already coked up, so naturally she was arrested. Larry came to bail her out with his girlfriend, and Alley felt all the more disgusted by the turn of events.
Why did Walker return Alley’s notebook?
During her initial days, Alley thought she was in control of her life and that she was making the most of her time at the ranch. She was getting to spend time with a genius; she was finally experiencing new things, and her journal was taking shape because of it, and her words were about to be published. Life was going great until she gradually came to realize that she was being taken advantage of. She was not the main character in the story anymore; she described herself as the ‘throwaway girl.’ Things got all the more heated when Larry’s girlfriend read out Walker’s manuscript that she had found in her guest cabinet. Walker was horrified; he quickly figured out that Alley had been rewriting his pages. What followed was a disaster—Walker experienced a seizure, and the minute Alley decided to dial the emergency helpline, Larry and his girlfriend fled, fearing that they would be questioned if something went wrong. Alley was all alone, and she begged Walker to stay with her.
Thankfully, Walker survived the seizure. Later, Walker read Alley’s manuscript, and he couldn’t contain his laughter. He thought her work was subpar, and he simply burned it because he didn’t think it was worth sending it to Lionel. He was okay with dying penniless rather than putting his name on a book that he didn’t believe in. Alley was in tears watching her manuscript burn to ashes. She’d simply tried to help, but Walker didn’t feel grateful. He felt cheated, and he felt the urgency to humiliate her. Alley boldly stated that there was no way Walker would manage to finish the book by himself, and before leaving, she didn’t hesitate to add that he was a coward. Irritated, Walker flung a heavy object in her direction, and she started to bleed from her head. Claudia offered to buy her a ticket to New York, but Alley was not sure if that was what she wanted. She was still holding onto the last stand, hoping that things would somehow work out in her favor. Alley realized how cold Claudia was when, immediately after showing sympathy, she asked her to sign a settlement offer, fearing that the incident could damage Walker’s reputation. Alley was done; she packed her bags and finally left. She arrived in New York at her friend Rose’s apartment.
What she thought would change her life for the better turned out to be a harrowing experience. While going through her belongings, Alley discovered her journal. As it turned out, Walker had indeed returned her journal before she left. He knew he had messed up. He was so spoiled by everyone around him that he failed to acknowledge or even realize the mistakes he made. There was always someone (Claudia) cleaning up after him, and he didn’t have to worry about his conduct. He could act irrationally, be jealous, and cross boundaries simply because the world had declared him a genius. Somewhere deep down, Walker perhaps regretted his actions, and he knew there was no way he could fix the situation. Maybe he’d hoped Alley would leave sooner; he knew no one should really put up with his mess, but she stayed because she was searching for validation just like everyone else around him. He could only offer her words, and that was exactly what he did. He had gone through her journal, and he’d made editorial suggestions and requested her to change his name if she ever published her work. Even though things didn’t pan out the way Alley hoped for, the experience changed her life, as toxic and as problematic as it was, and at the end of the day, she had a story to tell now.
