The Val We Never Knew

Val. Amazon Studios, A24 (2021)

By R. J. F.

For my entire life, up until I watched the documentary, he was just some actor I had seen in a handful of films that I liked.

The documentary Val had been on my streaming list for at least a year before I watched it. In fact, when I watched it, I wasn’t even planning on it; I kind of accidentally clicked on it. From the moment it started, I couldn’t take my eyes off of my TV. The documentary is about the life and career of Val Kilmer as told through his own personal videos, some recent footage shot by a documentary crew, and narrated in 1st person by his son, Jack.

I was aware that Kilmer had undergone treatments for throat cancer and knew that this had completely altered his life, but I didn’t know that these treatments required a tracheotomy and the use of a voice box. I was a little bit shocked when this new version of Kilmer came onto the screen, and I felt sadness for him. I don’t know, I guess if I had to choose between dying or losing my voice, I probably would choose to live, too, as Kilmer has done, but it’s still a bummer.

I never really knew much about Kilmer’s personal life. I didn’t know that he had a younger brother who died at 15, who he obviously still grieves for. I didn’t know that he married his co-star, Joanne Whalley, from the movie Willow (a childhood favorite), and had two children with her. I didn’t know that he saved his father from bankruptcy, and in doing so, had to work extra hard in order to earn back the money he lost. I didn’t know that he was a classically trained actor that had attended the famed Juilliard School, where he excelled in stage performances. To me, for my entire life, up until I watched the documentary, he was just some actor I had seen in a handful of films that I liked.

Through the old footage and the new footage, some things became very clear to me about Kilmer. First is that he loves being a father. In fact, I think this is his most beloved role in life. It’s so very apparent that from birth, through childhood, and into his kids’ adult lives that he loves every moment spent being with them, and has a deep bond and love for them. The way he interacted with them as children, to the way he interacts with them as adults shows how connected, supportive, and just sweet he is with them. Again, this is not something that I would have ever suspected from him; it was really touching to watch.

The second thing I noticed right off the bat is that he is a total goofball. In his old footage, and in the current documentary footage, he likes to joke around, playfully fall over, play silly pranks, egg on his co-stars, and, generally, be a jovial dude, even after all of his cancer treatments. The desire to get a laugh out of people stems from his recollection of making his first audience laugh when he played a role in a school play as a kid, and the amazing feelings he got from making people happy. This playfulness was surprising because he has played so many serious roles in his acting career.

The last thing that really stood out to me was the fact that, when he was steadily working, he was a very method actor. In fact, this type of method acting took its toll on his marriage when he was slated to play the role of Jim Morrison in the movie The Doors. Kilmer openly acknowledges that, as he was preparing for the role, it was driving his then-wife crazy because of it. Going back to his time at Juilliard, this is when he was taught to engross himself in a role, and it’s what he carried with him throughout his Hollywood career. He refused to be another pretty-faced, silver screen god without the skills to back it up; he lived the characters he embodied when he was preparing and acting in those roles.

Later in the day after I had watched the documentary, I was telling my aunt and her husband about Val and how good it was, and how Kilmer filmed everything from childhood to adulthood. My aunt’s husband said, “That just goes to show how big his ego is, that he felt the need to film himself all the time.” I kind of wanted to defend Kilmer when he said this, but then I thought that this could be partially true. Anyone that goes into acting has to have some kind of ego, some kind of mentality about their skill and craft, especially if they were classically trained, as Kilmer was. Any sort of performing arts school kind of ingrains the need to be invested in yourself (the performer) and your performances because you do spend so much time delving into the roles you’re playing; you can’t help but create an ego in this type of environment.

But, I don’t wholly agree that his filming of his life was solely based on a giant ego. One needs to ask themselves when they watch this documentary about Kilmer’s life: Is this an ego boost? I’m sure in some ways it is, but if I had to guess, I think he wanted to tell the story of his life. I think he wanted to pull back the curtain because there has been so much mystery in these later years about what he’s been up to since his cancer treatments, what his family’s role has been in the long run of his life, and to show people his love of performing. Kilmer wants to leave behind something people can watch to remember him. Besides, isn’t that what we all want, to be remembered long after our days are over?