I’ve always been a fan of Val Kilmer during his many years in Hollywood. Hilarious in “Top Secret”, moving and powerful as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s “The Doors” and one hell of a Doc Holliday in “Tombstone”, Kilmer’s been entertaining us for decades.
The new documentary VAL shows a similar range of emotions by assembling the home and on-set movies that Kilmer has been compiling for many years. With an artistic eye beyond his acting gifts, we see paintings, collages, sculptures, and expressions of his life, but the compiled film footage is the most revealing.
Battling throat cancer, Kilmer has little to no physical voice left, but he’s still got plenty to say. The film gives him plenty of opportunities to flashback on his life, his career, and enough behind-the-scenes stories to interest the casual fan and thrill the passionate film buff.
Holding nothing back, he takes on everything from his brief stint as Batman, Ice in “Top Gun”, his role in “Heat” and his very strange days with Marlon Brando making the ill-fated “Island of Dr. Moreau” in 1996.
Most of his work after 2000 is disregarded in favor of a focus on his later stage work as Mark Twain, which serves as a quiet counterbalance to the heady start of his movie stardom.
Kilmer’s son Jack does some of his voiceovers, while Kilmer and his co-stars feature heavily in the on-set footage. Transparent, albeit guarded, about the reputation that grew in the 90’s detailing him being difficult on set, he’s somewhat validated by his on-set arguments that you see, because he was right about the films. “Moreau” was crap with a rudderless director and Kilmer’s concerns combined with Brando’s legendary bizarre behavior make for one hell of a strange set.
Beyond the public persona, Kilmer comes across as a passionate artist devoted to his fans. The scenes of Kilmer showing up to sign autographs at Comic-Con type events are sad. His cancer treatments have rendered him ill, while he fights to put on a brave face for fans that have lined up for hours to meet him. Puking in a trash bin behind a curtain in a cavernous exhibition hall is a long way from the bright lights of Hollywood.
Now in his early 60’s, Kilmer is in the stage of life where he sees his earlier mistakes more clearly and his relationships with his loved ones now reflect that knowledge.
VAL could use a little more edge, but in all fairness, it’s Kilmer’s wholly owned look back at his life. It left me cheering for a man whose found comfort in a quieter existence, perhaps much more appreciative of the experiences he’s lived. I’m excited to see the role that Tom Cruise made sure was part of the upcoming Top Gun film. Kilmer’s earned it.
Go back and watch Kilmer in “Top Secret” by the boys that made “Airplane” and the follow that up with Michael Mann’s “Heat”. He’s excellent in both and no two roles speak more loudly of his wide range.
VAL is an interesting, heartfelt look at the past. Always engaging and often surprising, I’ll give it an appreciative B.
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