The year of the documentary continues with an intimate depiction of the life and career of a Hollywood star. From A24, Val is occasionally painful and sad but plenty funny and ultimately a triumphant and heartwarming examination at the work and life of the one and only Val Kilmer.
If you are even a little bit familiar with American cinema of the 1980s and 1990s then you almost certainly know the name, Val Kilmer. Becoming a household name almost overnight with the surprising success of Top Gun in 1986, Kilmer’s career trajectory took him a long way from his roots as a Julliard drama grad. In dealing with recovery from throat cancer, he felt like it was the right time to tell his story.
Directors Ting Poo and Leo Scott had a mountain of material to comb through because Val and his brothers had been making home movies since childhood and he was also one of the first in his peer group to have a home video camera, so there’s an amazing amount of archive footage, both from home and on set, to help tell the story of his life. In his recovery, Kilmer also started painting as a form of art therapy so the film has this incredible visual storytelling.
It’s not possible to capture a person’s entire life story in a two-hour movie, but Poo and Scott painted a heartfelt and impactful portrait of Kilmer’s life and career. Much of it is stated in his own words, either spoken by Val himself when he can or voiced over by his son Jack who sounds eerily like his father and, because he participated in the project, the emotional context of the story has ownership. The audience isn’t left with someone else’s interpretation, their memory, of who Val Kilmer was. Instead, we see how he views himself in the present and how he looks back on his life and career.
It’s in that space where this movie thrives. Peeling back the layers of the screen icon, there’s a very complex human being underneath. A man who’s led a complicated life, both personally and professionally, and fought for his artistic integrity along the way. I’m sure a lot of fans are curious about his illness and, while it isn’t the focal point of the film, he does address it and how it has affected his life.
I had the privilege of seeing Kilmer’s Citizen Twain one-man show at the Pasadena Playhouse and watching this movie highlighted the things that made me such a big fan over the years and the personality that has endeared him to so many over the years.
Recommendation: For long-time fans of Kilmer, this is a must-see and it’s a great peek into the movie business during the 80s and 90s. It also might be very educational to any younger actors who are looking to break into the business.
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