Oliver Stones hallucinatory psychodrama biopic of rock god/poet Jim Morrison goes further than most cinematic memoirs of artists in confronting its subjectís destructive impulses while glorifying his creative energy.
Val Kilmer is extraordinary as Morrison, holding the centre with a demonic charisma, while Stone recreates the late '60s milieu with vibrant versimilitude.
The coming together of The Doors (with Kyle MacLachlan particularly strong as the disciplined organist Ray Manzarek), their rise and Morrison's star power are conveyed with fond exhilaration. But there's also a constant undercurrent of awareness that the permissiveness and excess of the day will fuel Morrison's horrific physical decline and his erratic, obnoxious behaviour, bringing about his pitiable death in 1971.
The clear intent is to equate the acid experience, the quest for inner knowledge and Jim's creepy sado-masochism with the dark, nightmare side of The American Dream. In this, the film is fairly successful. But the attempts to plumb Morrison's sensitive side, his (pretentious) philosophical bent and his struggle to channel his considerable talents positively are something of a blur in the trippy kaleidoscope. Great soundtrack, though!