Wonderland (2003)

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Movie
German title Wonderland
Original title Wonderland
Country of production USA
Canada
original language English
Publishing year 2003
length about 100 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director James Cox
script James Cox
Captain Mauzner
Todd Samovitz
D. Loriston Scott
production Michael Paseornek
Holly Wiersma
music Cliff Martinez
Terry Reid
camera Michael Grady
cut Jeff McEvoy
occupation

Wonderland is an American - Canadian thriller - drama from 2003 starring Val Kilmer .

action

The plot is based on a true story, namely the so-called Wonderland murders of July 1, 1981. Four people were cruelly murdered and one woman was seriously injured in the house with number 8763 on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon residential area in Los Angeles.

The main character of the film is the porn actor John Holmes , whose career suffered from his drug addiction. John Holmes had contact with the so-called Wonderland gang, which dominated the cocaine trade in Los Angeles. On the other hand, he was also friends with the nightclub and restaurant owner Eddie Nash. So the idea of ​​robbing Nash came about. John Holmes was supposed to open a back door during a visit to Nash's house, through which members of the Wonderland gang later wanted to get in to rob Nash. The plan worked. Nash quickly found out who was robbing him and took revenge. He and his men forced John Holmes to give them access to the Wonderland gang's house and beat the five people present with steel pipes (three members of the gang and two friends of gang members), four of whom died.

The film tells the process from different perspectives, based on the statements of the surviving main actors. On the one hand, there was gang member David Lind, who happened to be out of the house on the evening of the murders, then John Holmes himself and, in part, Eddie Nash. The representations sometimes differed from each other, and the film contrasts these different versions. So there are z. B. different statements about who initiated the Nash robbery or whether Holmes was present or even involved in the Wonderland murders or only allowed access to the house.

Holmes' lover Dawn Schiller and his then-wife Sharon Holmes appear as secondary characters.

In the credits, the film tells the further fate of the main characters by means of text panels: Although John Holmes is accused of the murders, he is ultimately acquitted. He died of AIDS in 1988. Eddie Nash's trial also ended in acquittal. The only survivor could only remember shadows.

Reviews

James Berardinelli wrote on RellViews that the film was an "irresistible journey into the depths of Hell on Earth". You can't like any of the characters, but their perversions are fascinating. The film shows the same events from the point of view of John Holmes and from the point of view of David Lind. Berardinelli praised the portrayals by Val Kilmer, Josh Lucas, Kate Bosworth and Lisa Kudrow.

“A true crime story that rocked America in the early 1980s and ushered in the end of an era. The cheerful "Summer of Love" culture had given way to a social hangover, experimentation with lifestyles had been replaced by getting used to hard drugs. The brilliant cast, convincingly staged film also dramaturgically captures the sadness of a fading era. "

backgrounds

Production costs were approximately 5 million US dollars .

Holmes' former lover Dawn Schiller and his ex-wife Sharon Holmes were in attendance on the set. Dawn Schiller was also an associate producer.

Paris Hilton made a cameo in the film when she was flirting with Holmes on a yacht.

proof

  1. Film review by James Berardinelli
  2. Wonderland. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. Box office / business for Wonderland

Web links