Mass audiences now have the spectacle of "Wonderland" (2003) as a grim counterweight to the sometimes frivolous "Boogie Nights." What links the two films together is that John Holmes (1944-1988), the subject of the former work, is the inspiration for the story of Dirk Diggler, recounted by Anderson in his work of fiction. The two films, however, could not be more different in tone. Whereas Anderson mixes an outsider's perception of the 1970s underworld with deft touches of comedy, "Wonderland" serves its audience a landscape bereft of any such levity.
It is precisely this absence of trivialization and comedic elements that make "Wonderland" such a formidable work. "Wonderland" is the product of James Cox who, like his contemporary Paul Thomas Anderson, was far from the age of majority when the events of this film transpired. The event in question is the brutal slaying of four individuals on Wonderland Avenue in 1981. A multiple slaying is grounds enough for a compelling, true-crime drama, but add to the mix the association of a notorious adult-film star, and an even more compelling storyline is born.
John Holmes came into this world in 1944 as John Curtis Estes, a child whose world would be shaped by a fractured family structure and dire poverty in post-war Ohio. Unable to suffer the daily struggles of life with an alcoholic stepfather, the youth, with the complicity of his mother, enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 16. Shortly after his discharge in 1963, the young Holmes made his way to Los Angeles where an apparently ordinary life as a married man in a series of dead-end jobs appeared to be his lot. Turning his destiny around, Holmes made himself a star of an industry that would achieve even greater prominence in the early 1970s. A star of sorts was born. The gangly, small-town boy became an underground phenomenon, but with success came new temptations. For Holmes, the primary temptation was cocaine which, like pornographic film, had permeated even more strata of society than in any previous time.
Holmes, enervated by his all-consuming addiction, found himself increasingly on the margins of what was, despite patronage of the dominant class, an outcast society. As a result, the once handsomely paid performer was reduced to acts of petty crime to support his habit. Graduating from the petty to the heinous, Holmes found his associations becoming increasingly sordid as his spiral into addiction ensued. One such association was with Eddie Nash, the Palestinian immigrant who made his fortune among the underworld of Los Angeles and who became a dominant figure in the life of Holmes owing to his generous allocation of cocaine and money.
The lurid associations with the criminal element did not finish with Mr. Nash. Holmes was increasingly drawn to the denizens of Wonderland Avenue, a group of individuals tightly linked with the lucrative drug trade in Los Angeles. The single-minded coterie sought new and increasingly perilous ways to remain both solvent and stoned. One such way was to gain access to the mansion of Nash via the trust established by Holmes. Once inside, the plan was to seize as many of Nash's assets as possible and secure enough lucre to maintain themselves in a state of drug-induced ecstasy. Unfortunately, for all involved, such a destiny proved elusive. Captured days later by Nash's minions, Holmes was forcibly led to the house of the bandits and coerced into slaying four of the five inhabitants with lead pipes. One individual survived with extensive brain damage and was thus incapable of identifying the assailants. What took place was a prolonged trial for Holmes that was characterized by witness protection, flight from justice, recapture, and imprisonment. It is these elements that lend themselves to the dramatic intensity of "Wonderland."
Dramatic intensity is hardly a difficult feat to achieve when recounting one of the darker moments in an already bleak demi-monde; however, the director adds to what already exists owing to a finesse that bodes well for future projects. Rigorous attention to period details, a use of naturalistic dialogue and a surprising level of restraint keep "Wonderland" from lapsing into the sensationalistic.
Val Kilmer is cast as Holmes in one of the wisest casting decisions in recent years. Although more finely featured than the relatively homely pornographer, Kilmer is convincing as a complex figure within a sordid subculture. Eric Bogosian, whose role as Eddie Nash would ordinarily inspire much scenery chewing in other actors, handles the role with more dignity than one would expect. The one actress who illuminates the film throughout is Kate Bosworth. Bosworth plays the throwaway teen who is dragged through the purgatorial underworld of her elder lover John Holmes. Throughout this nightmarish descent, Bosworth character manages to transmit an enduring innocence. Equally impressive is the work of Lisa Kudrow. As the long-suffering and estranged wife of John Holmes, her performance is a revelation. Here, Ms. Kudrow deftly portrays a woman whose essential decency still obligates her to a man who subjected her to some of the worst humiliation possible. Serving as a virtuous foil to the sociopathic Holmes, Kudrow's work brings much-needed humanity to a thoroughly benighted environment.
It is for these factors that "Wonderland" deservedly ranks as a must-see, not only for fans of Kilmer, or those with a perverse interest in the abbreviated life of John Holmes, but to anyone interested in a masterly true-crime story.
(Yes, a man who looked like this had a successful career in porn!)
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