Homenaje a Val Kilmer: The Doors
By Kit Macdonald
Sala Phenomena pays homage to Val Kilmer, who died on April 1 at the age of 65, by revisiting a performance as Jim Morrison so striking that many critics agree it single-handedly saved Oliver Stone's biopic from its director's tonal excesses and the film's copious historical liberties. The 30-year-old Kilmer fully inhabited the role, his physical resemblance to the singer and his baritone voice and snake-like movement onstage helping him to perfectly capture Morrison's magnetic star quality and his deep self-destructive tendencies.
Kilmer's portrayal is widely regarded as one of the most important and transformative of his career, and he lost himself in the role so totally that the line between actor and subject becomes excitingly blurred. The ultimate endorsement came when the surviving band members heard Kilmer’s vocal recordings for the soundtrack and were said to have been unsure if they were listening to Kilmer or Morrison.