 |
Val Kilmer has always been one of my favorite actors. Most of his work is minor, he is not a big Hollywood star, although his role as the lead singer of The Doors was superior. He even sang the songs himself, and was the reincarnation of Jim Morrison.
He acted alongside mega stars Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in one of the best suspense/drama film in years, Heat (the movie revolved around DeNiro and Pacino never meeting, adding drama that was external to the actual plot). Kilmer simply got lost in the fray.
In At First Sight, he was a blind man who recovers his sight and loses it again. His performance was perfect, not overly sensitive or politically correct. Similarly, in Salton Sea, he is a trumpet player working for the FBI to help catch drug dealers, while trying to find his wife’s killers. As in At First Sight , Kilmer is working with double identities, and dual worlds. He maneuvers it all excellently.
Maybe it is his slightly aloof nature (a woman star whose personality reminds me of his is the blonde Michelle Pfeiffer, and I consider her one of the best actresses around). He brings a different layer of nuance into his roles, which other actors would sledgehammer through.
But, the fundamental reason for his lack of popularity is also the diminished interest in blonde actors (blonde actresses fare much better, with Michelle Pfeiffer, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, and dozens more, who dominate the screens). Other blonde actors are given similar under-handed treatments. James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi), Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) and Willem Dafoe (The Last Temptation of Christ) come to mind. A younger and more contemporary Leonard DiCaprio, despite his superior acting skills, is now left in the shadows. I don’t think it is his choice, but rather a lack of roles offered to him. And not only are blonde actors less likely to star in big movies, but when they do, they are given negative roles of villains. They never save the day, like the dark leading men.
Of course there are Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Steve McQueen, but they are of an older generation. This mania exclusively for darkness is a new phenomenon.
Leading men now seem to be obligatorily dark haired: Tom Cruise, George Clooney, all the James Bond stars post Roger Moore, Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant, Johnny Depp, and the list goes on. These dark-haired stars are debonair and spirited, glowing in the adoration of their fans and happy to keep up their appearances. Blondes either disappear from the limelight (Woods, Walken, Dafoe and DiCaprio) or efface their good looks as has done blonde Brad Pitt, who appears more and more unkempt over the years, reflecting, I think, the audience's interest in his relationship with the dark-haired and olive-skinned Angelina Jolie – the dark substitute to his blonde looks – rather than in him.
Which brings us back to Val Kilmer. There is a depressing and sad decline in his appearance, just like Brad Pitt. His sharp and chiselled features have become soft and doughy, and his weight gain is unspeakable for an actor of his caliber. He is constantly indecisive these days, unable to make up his mind whether he act, sing or run for politics. Like Brad Pitt, who once basked in the adoration of the public, Val Kilmer has psychologically withdrawn from life itself, after his audience shifted its gaze away from him.
