Kill Your Darlings: Obsession meurtrière

John Krokidas' film explores the early life of Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), and how he came into contact with Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and William Burroughs (Ben Foster). Through their association the ideas of the Beat Generation were born. The film starts off very promisingly, depicting Ginsberg's early life at home in Paterson, New Jersey, and his subsequent career at Columbia University. We understand something of he and his friends wanted to rebel against established conventions - not only literary but societal conventions. The 'official' view, as propounded by Professor Stevens (John Cullum) seems stuffy and old-fashioned. As the action progresses, however, so the film's priorities become diluted; rather than focusing on the genesis of the Beats, the action concentrates instead on the complex love-triangle involving Lucien, Allen and David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall). We are given the distinct suggestion all of three of them are emotionally immature, which thereby reduces the significance of their 'rebellion.' Matters are not helped by Radcliffe's rather colorless performance as Ginsberg - his expressions rarely change from being rather bemused as what's happening around him. A brave attempt at recreating the values of a previous generation, but the director seems to lose the courage of his convictions.

It's no surprise that some of the most effective works of the Beatnik generation were born in the scuzzy halls of jazz bars; soaked with whiskey induced grammar, intoxicated with muddled philosophies, their pages bathed in the permanent smell of tobacco. Much like the work of Lewis Carroll, drugs, alcohol, and culture were catalysts towards the ideology of destroying the old and building the new. The movement itself was a rousing feat with great cultural ramifications. The film itself is a work that sometimes trades in the grainy for flashy; rupturing not only the pattern that the authors were trying to break, but the whole tone of the film as well.

If I pitched you a story about the Beat generation led by Harry Potter, the new Harry Osborne, a guy from X-Men and the guy from Boardwalk Empire with half his face missing, I'm sure the reaction would be pretty great. Unfortunately for audiences, the subject matter submits to a truly unauthentic, lack lustre festival formula and abandons creativeness and a unique vision for a familiar narrative that disregards great historical figures, making them caricatures within a lame murder/mystery genre film.

Daniel Radcliffe plays Allen Ginsberg, one of the most famous and recognizable poets in the American culture. Radcliffe continues to shed his 'Hogwarts alumni' image by taking risky, unconventional and edgy roles that all share in their seemingly controversial nature. Upon his acceptance and arrival into Columbia University, Ginsberg is in search of something offbeat. Ironically enough, Ginsberg is lured into the residency of Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), an intoxicated sociopath with an obsession for self-destruction, always curious for the taste of the complicated and unexplainable.

Together, Carr and Ginsberg start a small revolution in their heads, but without so many words. With the help of an unlimited supply of cannabis and some Johnny Walker, the two eventually enlist of the help of William Burroughs (Ben Foster) and a young Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and begin their uprising. Through constant disruptions by the reputation and prestige Columbia University holds so true and dear to its heart, the constantly stoned literary bandits are engulfed into a world of lovers, obsession and murder, intent on revolutionizing literature.

Kill Your Darlings starts bold and overwhelming, demanding utmost attention. Unfortunately, once attention is given, the film cannot hold its grip and deliver a rousing, culturally relevant story about some of the most influential figures in contemporary literature in the last century. Blending the lines of drug induced fantasy and reality, Kill Your Darlings is a story of breaking the formulaic path, distrusting all conventional and predictable beats of rhyme and meter, but sadly becomes a textbook festival entry with a forgettable conclusion.

The term to 'kill your darlings' is one that suggests destroying all the conventions and comforts of the mundane, reinventing yourself, and throwing inhibition to the wind and finding creativity will inspire instances of utter uniqueness. Kill Your Darlings, although sometimes confident, is an obsessive and complicated re-telling of enigmatic characters placed in a deceitful and over-dramatized tragedy of murder. With the rich historical and cultural imprint of these feisty literary pioneers, so much of the busy murder antics is clearly overshadowing the brilliant opportunity to showcase the likes of Carr, Ginsberg, Burroughs and Kerouac.

Mixing the potential monologue moments of Weir's 1989 Dead Poets Society with the tone and ambiance of Salle's 2004 masterpiece The Motorcycle Diaries, Kill Your Darlings becomes a self- inflicted suicide of a film with a tantalizing and promising narrative. Don't get me wrong, the performances are top notch; DeHaan is magnificent as Carr and Radcliffe is radiant as Ginsberg. However, while most of the top-billed cast is ravishing, and supporting cast is spot on, the film feels drowned in the water with average narrative clichés weighing it down.

While the antics of the underbelly of the New York Greenwich Village scene have been explored, battered, bruised and forever changed by the provocative and decadent Beat Movement, Kill Your Darlings remains a tame snippet of the life of these amazing authors and thinkers. Destined to be an example of a complicated festival biography attempt, the film will positively spark deep discussion. Kill Your Darlings repeats the initial reaction to Carr's response to Ginsberg's complicated life, "Perfect. I love complicated." Hopefully next time, an autobiographical cinematic take on the origins of the Beat Generation will be less gimmicky and more focused on the howling affect these fascinating individuals had on the world of literature, art, and our contemporary culture as a whole.

In 1942 Paterson, NJ Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) is trying to keep the peace between his cold poet father Louis (David Cross) and his unstable mother Naomi (Jennifer Jason Leigh). As a freshman in Columbia University, he befriends outgoing rebel Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) in the tradition bound atmosphere. He introduces Allen to his friends William Burroughs (Ben Foster), jealous David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), and Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) with his girlfriend Edie Parker (Elizabeth Olsen). They call themselves 'A New Vision' as they break away from the stifling restrictions of the university until it culminates into murder.

I'm not in love with John Krokidas' directing efforts. It's missing something. I don't like the attempt to add jazz into the style of the structure. It needs to raise the tension or emotion or something. The guys' murky relationships are a good start. Maybe it needs to show them having more sex. Something is not all there. I can't really pinpoint it.

What really works is the performances of Daniel Radcliffe and the brilliant Dane DeHaan. DeHaan is outstanding. Radcliffe has put Harry Potter behind him. I think the film could put more emotional acting on the screen. That again has to do with the directing. Certainly this is better and more coherent than 'On the Road'. It has great performances but a couple of things keep this from being great.

"Under the right circumstances even he might change the world." Columbia University in the 1940's unknowingly gave life to some of the best poets in the world. Alan Ginsberg (Radcliffe) shows up and is almost instantly dissatisfied with what he finds. The school is too straight laced as far as teaching goes. He meets future legends Lucien Carr (DeHaan), William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. What starts off as a group trying to change the world spirals out of control until a murder changes the lives of all of them. I have never been "hip" or into the beat poet scene. Never been a fan of Kerouac or even a big fan of Hunter S. Thompson for that matter. Not really sure why but they just never appealed to me. I watched On The Road but wasn't that impressed so I wasn't all that excited about watching this one. I do have to admit that this was much better then I expected. This one had a Dead Poet's Society aspect to it and I think that is why I ended up liking it. If you are a fan of the beat poet generation then you will love this. I liked how the character interactions grew to an explosive resolution, that was interesting to me. Overall, much better then On The Road, but this movie made me want to watch that one again now that I know more about the relationships. I give this a B.

My review of Kill Your Darlings may be heavily bias because I have read everything I can get my hands on about the relationship between Ginsberg and Carr and I am a beat fan before almost many things. However, this film examines Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) before he began his literary revolution and the character is one I found easy to fall in love with. Radcliffe portrays Ginsberg - with the aid of new comer writer and director John Korkidas - with a playful naive innocence as he approaches love and friendship at Columbia and his relationship between Carr (Dane DeHaan) is believable from the moment you see them in the same scene.

There is an obvious chemistry between DeHaan and Radcliffe that really aids the performance. I have seen this film twice now and upon reflection I enjoyed how the sexuality of the characters was not places heavily on screen despite the homosexuality of Ginsberg being a very key aspect of the films script. The sexual tension between Ginsberg and Carr was handled very well and I was never not intrigued by the compelling dynamic between the two and, if anything, by the end of the film was more curious about the relationship than I was when I walked into the theater.

Jack Huston and Ben Foster give amazing performances despite their lack of character development throughout the film but they never took all of the attention either which I especially enjoyed as it was never a film about just Ginsberg or a film about Kerouac alone as it was about all of the beat writers and the event that begun their revolution as inspirational writers.

Micheal C Hall gives an incredible performance, however, I felt as though I could really see his character of Dexter in the T.V show of the same title shine through his portrayal of Kammerer. This similarity did not hinder the film as a whole but in one particular scene I felt as though I was watching Dexter not Kammerer.

The main theme of the movie revolves around 'A Vision' by William Butler Yeats and his idea of life being circular carries deep within viewers as they watch Ginsberg's life 'widen'. This film is a must see for any of you who love the beats or those of you who are inspired by indie films about deeply buried tales.