re:mote voices

Title: Wonderland
Cast: Val Kilmer, Kate Bosworth, Lisa Kudrow, Dylan McDermott, Josh Lucas, Eric Bogosian
Director: James Cox

Where Boogie Nights perhaps concentrated on the rise and success of John Holmes, porn star, Wonderland explores certain events in the life of Holmes once his legendary status was tattered and worn thin. The result is a dislocated, layered narrative, which uses a series of effects to create a distinctive atmosphere and emphasize the period the film is set in.

Holmes, played by Val Kilmer, has become a drug addict, estranged with his wife for five years, having started a relationship with a 15 year old girl. Over the years Holmes has gained a reputation as a liar and a thief, so that most people won’t tolerate his presence. At the core of this story, is a group located on Wonderland Drive, who are willing to give him drugs now and then, and have him about for his novelty value. The events which stem from that left four people dead, and one in intensive care. What exactly happened varies depending on who tells the story, a fact which is well demonstrated by the film – one of the gang having been out at the time of the killings tells one story, which depicts Holmes as a simpering, pathetic junky responsible for what happened. While Holmes version depicts him as a swaggering legend, reluctantly helping these vicious, drugged up killers with their plan. In the meantime some of the other spaces/interpretations are filled in by Holmes girlfriend Dawn (Kate Bosworth) and his wife Sharon (Lisa Kudrow).

For a film with its lead as a porn star, there is perhaps surprisingly little sex involved in this story. Given the faded status of Holmes this is more about the drugs and violence. The facts of the film are played with, split screens, news paper reports, opinionated stories adding up as the film unfolds. But the last word on events is delivered as the film makers belief of what really happened, based on the statements made by Sharon Holmes after John’s death from AIDs in the late eighties. This leaves us with the brutality of the killings, something which hadn’t been shown till this point, shown in feral, growling viciousness.

The performances throughout are strong, as is the cinematic composition of the whole, such that Wonderland is a striking and memorable narrative.