No Alice in this Wonderland

WONDERLAND is loosely based on the life and crimes of legendary porn star John Holmes (Val Kilmer).

During his career he made over 2,000 porn films, but he left the business an addict reduced to selling drugs to get by.

The film opens with Holmes living with his teenage girlfriend Dawn (Kate Bosworth).

He’s deeply in debt to the wrong sort of people and to help pay off the money he owes he agrees to help them rob local hood Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian).

Eddie owns Hollywood’s Seven Seas and has plenty of money, drugs and jewellery in his home.

Holmes agrees to leave the lock on Eddie’s kitchen door open for the thieves. The gang steal over $1m worth of goods, but only give Holmes a few thousand as his cut.

Angered by the robbery, Nash sends his hired help to the gang’s hideout where they exact a gruesome revenge, leaving four people dead and one seriously injured.

Gang member David Lind (Dylan McDermott) fingers Holmes for the murders, but Holmes has a different version of events for the police. But who is telling the truth?

Wonderland is an interesting glimpse into the seedy world of drugs and porn. Kilmer gives a creditable performance as the sleazy Holmes, but Kate Bosworth outshines him as the gullible Dawn.

She really does prove that love is blind.

Drama, 18. ***