Luke McWilliams gives his review of the 2021 documentary, Val, that follows the life and career of actor Val Kilmer.

As Val Kilmer’s voice, narrator Jack Kilmer explains that Val’s throat has been damaged due to his battle with cancer. Val then presents hundreds of boxes of old videotapes housed in a storage area that he has shot throughout his life. Flashing back to a very young Val in one of his earliest home videos with his two brothers, and the story begins!

Val’s first cinematic turn was in the spoof comedy Top Secret!. He would prove his acting ‘chops’ in Oliver Stones The Doors, but his A-list status was cemented with Top Gun and Batman Forever. The softly spoken, and ‘wooden’, actor earned a reputation of being difficult on set, and was deemed responsible for derailing full projects as shown in Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau.

It is amazing to see then, a young Val and his brothers remaking their favourite movies on their home video camera. We see Val’s flamboyance and love of performing that eventually takes him to the prestigious Juilliard School’s drama division to become a classically trained stage actor. It is very easy, then, to see how Val is restrained by the Hollywood system and his frustrations at its limitations. A discussion of his part in the ‘difficult’ personae, however, would have made the documentary more rounded.

Verdict: A fascinating, revealing, and heart-breaking look at the little-known artist, and misunderstood man, behind the Hollywood actor. 4.5 stars.

Val is streaming on Prime Video.

Luke McWilliams | themovieclub.net

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