The Doors
(1990)
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Oliver Stone might have considered his film a tribute to the enduring power of the Doors' music, but he seems to have also intended it as a cautionary tale on the perils of both celebrity and substance abuse. Starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, the film focuses on the Lizard King from his days as a UCLA film student in the early 1960s to his death in a Paris hotel in 1971. In the early days of the group's formation, Morrison is at his most benign; he's just a guy hanging out at the beach writing poetry. But as the Doors' fame begins to spread--with Morrison as the focus of attention--his drug consumption and erratic behavior increase exponentially. The rest of the band--Ray Manzarek (Kyle McLachalan), John Densmore (Kevin Dillon), and Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley)--begins to grow tired of his late arrivals, the increasing number of cancellations, and the drunken recording sessions requiring infinite retakes. But no one can help Morrison as he spirals downward into an inferno of drugs, alcohol, public obscenity, and depression. Kilmer gives an excellent performance, including a frighteningly accurate imitation of Morrison's singing. Stone's intimate familiarity with SoCal in the 1960s also provides the film with a high degree of surface verisimilitude. |
Although the title would have you believe that this is a biopic of the entire band, we learn next to nothing about Ray Manzarek, John Densmore or Robby Krieger here, as the emphasis is so firmly on the Doors's charismatic, enigmatic frontman, Jim Morrison. Unfortunately, co-writer/director Oliver Stone is so preoccupied with exploring the native American influences on Morrison's music and re-creating the sights and sounds of the 1960s that we discover precious little about Morrison either. Val Kilmer does, however, pull off a remarkable impression of the troubled vocalist, although he's more convincing on stage than he is in his drunken, drug-fuelled reveries.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Despite the title, the focus of this grandiose biopic is The Doors' singer Jim Morrison. Fans will enjoy it most; others are likely to find it noisy, overlong and over-busy.