Kill Your Darlings

 
photo for Kill Your Darlings The fascination for the Beat Generation poets and writers of the 50s and early 60s has had a bit of a renaissance as of late, with such documentaries and movies as “Howl” (2010), “William S. Burroughs: A Man Within” (2010), “Magic Trip” (2011), “Big Sur” (2012), “Corso: The Last Beat” (2012), “On the Road” (2012) and “The Beat Hotel” (2012). Now add to that list “Kill Your Darlings,” a weak, uneven attempt at portraying Alan Ginsberg’s early literary life at Columbia University in 1944, a time that supposedly set the foundation and themes for his later, groundbreaking work. At first it’s intriguing to see younger versions of Beat stalwarts Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac playing at being literary revolutionaries, but the film gets bogged done in too much exposition and off-key characterizations, including that of Ginsberg’s mother’s insanity, Ginsberg’s exploration of homosexuality, and his experimentation with drugs (a drug-infused, fast-motion Ginsberg writing session is a little too slapstick). The centerpiece of the film is the murder of a gay hanger-on that involves Ginsberg, Kerouac, Burroughs and Lucien Carr (one of Ginsberg’s muses), and the movie picks up as it approaches that watershed event. But until then, there’s nothing really to “Howl” about. When is someone going to get this stuff right? Extras: “On the Red Carpet at the Toronto Film Festival”; commentary with Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, John Krokidas and Austin Bunn; “In Conversation With Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan”; Q&A with director/co-writer John Krokidas and co-writer Austin Bunn; deleted scenes. Vitals: Director: John Krokidas. Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Elizabeth Olsen. 2013, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.019 million, Sony. 2 stars

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