Themusic biopic, while having long grown stale and corporatized (such is the fate of all American art), can still potentially be fertile ground for the higher echelon of screen acting.Some of the greatest screen performances of all time have been as real-life musicians, likeJamie FoxxasRay CharlesorMarion CotillardasEdith Piaf. Even in the past few years, we’ve seen biopic performances that have boosted the profiles of the stars of today, likeTimothée Chalametimpressing everyone asBob DylanorAustin Butlerbecoming an overnight star asElvis Presley. All those performances garnered some level of Oscar recognition, andthere’s one work that’s sorely missing from that prestigious class, and that’sthe late greatVal KilmerasJim MorrisoninOliver Stone’sThe Doors. Despite being a gold-standard example of bringing a famous figure back to life, it barely received any recognition upon initial release, and that’s a crime.
‘The Doors’ Is Pure Mythology
This being an Oliver Stone film,The Doorsisless concerned with historical accuracythan it is withusing a hazy mash-up of fact and myth to metaphorically explore America’s spiritual degradationfrom the late1960sinto the1970s. Stone is much less invested in the Doors as one of the most boundary-pushing and existentialist rock bands of the 20th century, and instead cares more about how he can portray frontman Jim Morrison (Kilmer) as a symbolic stand-in for Stone’s storytelling agenda. It only mentions his fellow band members, like guitarist Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley) or keyboardist Ray Manzarek (Kyle Maclachlan), and their musical progression out of obligation, firmly taking a backseat to Jim’s rampant drug and alcohol usage. This preference for mythology and Jim’s vices hasled many people, including critics, Doors fans, and Manzarek himself, to angrily dismiss the film as not an accurate portrayal of Jim Morrison, feeling that Stone committed character assassination by portraying him as an obnoxious and drunken buffoon all the time. Be that as it may, even Jim’s own bandmates had to admit that, as an actor,Val Kilmer perfectly embodied Jim Morrisonto a degree that they truly forgot he wasn’t the real deal.
Val Kilmer Prepared for an Entire Year
When Oliver Stone first approached Val Kilmer for the role, the actor was eager to go for it, andhe went through rigorous preparation even before knowing the role was his. Asthe websiteDazedput it best: “Kilmer dressed like Morrison, listened to his music, and examined his way of speech. He flat out lived like the Lizard King. The actor learned 50 songs fromThe Doors’catalogue and painstakingly studied Morrison’s mannerisms,” all a year before filming started.The Washington Postreported thatKilmer made his own audition tape, in which he made himself up to look like Morrison and performed various Doors songs, which impressed Stone and Doors producerPaul Rothchildenough to officially cast him. Kilmer then had to impress Morrison’s Doors bandmates, and when they listened to recordings of him singing Doors songs, they reportedly asked “Are we listening to Val or Jim?,” which more than proved that they had found the right man.His singing was so on point that they always used his voice for any scenes of live performance, which were huge endurance tests to film, what with all the lights and sweat and how quickly Val’s voice would wear down after a few takes. It helped that he’d already lost weight (vital, considering how often Jim has his shirt off) and really was the spitting image of Morrison, with no need forprostheticsor wigs, making it all the more impressive how muchhe was able to capture his essence without relying on external help.
Val Kilmer Singlehandedly Carries ‘The Doors’
Past all the superficial similarities, the thing that sends Kilmer’s performance into the realm of spine-chilling spiritual resurrection ishow much he lives up to Morrison’s self-professed “Lizard King” status. When Morrison euphorically climbs up onto the roof of a car and proclaims that he can do anything, you believe it wholeheartedly, even after having witnessed one of his many pathetic episodeswhen he’s intoxicated. Stone is wise enough to not show Morrison sitting around writing poetry or finding “inspiration” in hackneyed moments like inmuch worse biopicssinceyou see the radical humanist poetry radiating out of Kilmer’s hyper-focused glare and ponderous voice. It’s practically the only thing that keeps him tethered to his true humanity since it’s true that so much of his screen time is spent being dangerously inebriated and erratic, pushing everyone away and only winning them back with his superhuman charisma. Kilmer’s Jim Morrison is always searching for a higher truth that will light his fire, much like how Kilmer used his acting to pursue knowledge of himself and enrich his inner life. That spiritual synthesis elevated his performance far past the realm of surface-level mimicry into a shamanic channeling that made Oliver Stone’s muddled concert film more watchable than it deserved to be. Giventhe last time an Oscar was awarded for a music biopic performance,Val Kilmer was worthy of at least an Oscar nominationfor one of the definitive music biopic performances of all time.
The Doors follows the rise of the iconic 1960s rock band, focusing on the tumultuous life of lead singer Jim Morrison. The film delves into Morrison’s artistic vision and self-destructive tendencies, exploring his complex relationships and the band’s impact on the music scene, set against the backdrop of a transformative era.
