Director: Oliver Stone
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After the death of Val Kilmer, in my mind, Kurt Russell's doppelgänger, I thought it was only natural that I perused some of the movies he acted in. I am familiar with his famous roles in Batman and Top Gun, but his role as Jim Morrison, a member of the 'Club of 27', was new to me. So, I gave it a go.
My friend PS grew up under the influence of Jim Morrison of the Doors in the late '60s. He was so inspired by Morrison that he took up strumming the guitar and was mesmerised by his genius. He was too clever to be caught up in psychedelics and intoxicants like his hero and turned out quite alright. He is now a retired professor enjoying his twilight years and the fruits of his labour throughout his life.
They say the good die young. God takes the good away because He wishes to place them beside Him. They also claim there is an unceasing flow of harp music and revelry around the clock due to the Club of 27 and the many great performers who departed long before their prime over the years.
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| Jim Morrison of 'The Doors' |
The fact is that all these people had it coming all along. No, they did sell their souls to the devil for that fleeting fame and fortune. Their lifestyles were anything but exemplary. Living in the fast lane, making hay while the sun shone, they knew of their limited shelf life. Within that window of opportunity, they had to leave their mark. Speeding from venue to venue to please demanding fans quite literally disrupted their biological clocks. In their desire to extract every last drop of creativity, they faced the Hobson's choice of resorting to psychedelics and other stimulants, the same substances that Hitler's Army employed in their blitzkrieg as they swept across Western Europe in record time.
The film recounts the story of Jim Morrison's brief life in the late 1960s and the 1970s during the tumultuous times of the Vietnam protests, the flower power counterculture movement, and the upheaval against the social order led by the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945). People were popping pills left, right, and centre to sleep, to stay awake, for recreation, and for inspiration. Social taboos were shattered. Brassieres, the defining symbol of femininity, were burned in bonfires. Contraceptive pills granted them sexual freedom, and rock and roll transformed them into philosophers.
The film recounts the story of Jim Morrison's brief life in the late 1960s and the 1970s during the tumultuous times of the Vietnam protests, the flower power counterculture movement, and the upheaval against the social order led by the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945). People were popping pills left, right, and centre to sleep, to stay awake, for recreation, and for inspiration. Social taboos were shattered. Brassieres, the defining symbol of femininity, were burned in bonfires. Contraceptive pills granted them sexual freedom, and rock and roll transformed them into philosophers.
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| Kurt Rusell and Val Kilmer |
In essence, Morrison's life was convoluted, marked by a constant flow of alcohol, LSD, cigarettes, and cocaine. His judgment must have been hazy, as his mind was perpetually immersed in these thoughts and behaviour-altering chemicals. The creative juices kept flowing, no doubt, but his decadent lifestyle eventually caught up with him. He began arriving late for performances. His lewd behaviour at his concerts brought him to the attention of justice, and he was incarcerated. His father, whom he had repeatedly told the press was dead, appeared in defence of his son. His relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Pamela Courson, faced its ups and downs due to his unpredictable behaviour. Jim Morrison manifested the typical Jekyll and Hyde persona before and after losing sobriety with intoxicants.
Even though he must have contemplated starting anew in Paris with Courson after all the legal entanglements, Morrison likely succumbed to the weakness of the flesh. He had a liaison with heroin in Paris, which proved to be his coup de grâce.
When one dabbles with the forbidden, one must be ready to confront the consequences!
