Wonderland film review

certificate_18

WONDERLAND

When the prospect of facing another film about drugs and murder is more likely to solicit a barely stifled yawn than unbridled enthusiasm, you need a hook. Presumably the makers of Wonderland felt the true story about a quadruple murder involving legendary porn star John Holmes was that hook. The problem is the film only maintains a tenuous link with authenticity, rendering its main attribute redundant. Though based on real people, all of the pitiful and sleazy characters portrayed seemed less convincing than even those that inhabit fictionalized drug fare.

Director and co-writer James Cox has deliberately and effectively distanced Wonderland from a straight depiction of the events surrounding the brutal murder of four people in the Hollywood Hills in 1981. The noirish feel, combined with jerky camerawork and muted palette, add a stylish glaze that provides a barrier between fact and fiction. With the truth about exactly what happened on that fateful night still subject to conjecture, Cox is left to speculate, offering alternate versions and no conclusions.

With bloody murders an everyday occurrence in Los Angeles, what caused this this tragedy to become such a high profile case, consuming the media of a city obsessed with celebrity, was the involvement of the notoriously well endowed porn star John "Johnny Wad" Holmes (Val Kilmer). According to which version you choose to believe, Holmes was either not present, an observer or a participant in the murders. One thing not left in doubt is that Holmes was a pathetic, self-serving junkie.

Wonderland primarily focuses on Holmes' story, his long time relationship with youngster Dawn Schiller (Kate Bosworth), his dependence on his estranged wife (Lisa Kudrow), his insatiable drug habit, and his fateful link between ruthless club owner Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian) and a group of small time drug dealers.

The film takes its title from Wonderland Avenue, where the group lived. Led by the maniacal Ron Launius (Josh Lucas), they included Billy Deverall (Tim Blake Nelson) and David Lind (Dylan McDermott), their house became the center of Hollywood's flourishing drug scene. Launius would keep Holmes around for his novelty value and the opportunity to humiliate him.