Beat

A great find for anyone who finds themselves enjoying the Beat Generation literature, this is the story of one of the most tragic and pivotal points in their story, the death of Joan Burroughs.

Lucien Carr and Allen Ginsberg, on the eve of their skyrocket to fame, take a trip to Mexico City and visit Joan and William S. Burroughs. Burroughs has excused himself to Guatemala with a boyfriend, so Joan and the two old friends hit the road, reflecting on Lucien's time in jail, unrequited love, Bill's adultery, and the entire meaning of what exactly Kerouac was romanticizing. If you aren't drawn to the Beats and their story, you may want to stray away. However, if you want a sort of proto-"On the Road" mixed with the true story of the events preceding this pivotal moment in Beat history, you will enjoy this film.

The bulk of the film takes place in Mexico City with side-trips to more remote areas. The scenery outside the City is lush and lovely. The interactions among the actors reflect these locales. I found the film extremely watchable, and was fascinated with the performances. All the lead roles are clearly developed. I loved Courtney Love. She is as beautiful as a modern day Anna Magnani and never has a bad scene. Seeing Kiefer Sutherland in something so unlike his "24" role is a delight. Ron Livingston's performance is controlled and finely honed. Norman Reedus presents raw energy. The cinematography is excellent with wondrous scenes of light and color. One can almost smell the tropical foliage. This is decidedly Courtney Love's movie, since she plays Burroughs' tragic wife. The interactions of these characters, based on real-life people during that time period, is a mesmerizing glimpse into lives in emotional turmoil.

Look I think William Burroughs was one of the most important figures in not only post-War literature, but in pop culture generally. His work and ideas, and those of the other Beats, have had enormous repercussions on all kinds of arts, and have directly or indirectly affected many of our lives whether we know it or not. Burroughs life was almost as fascinating as his work, but you wouldn't know it from watching 'Beat', as it manages to condense some fascinatingly uncliched relationships into a soap-like love triangle.

I was suprised at the casting of Kiefer Sutherland at first. He isn't an obvious choice to play Burroughs, but he tries hard to humanise him. Unfortunately the thin script doesn't give him much to go on. Likewise Ron Livingston (best known for 'Office Space') does fairly well as Allen Ginsberg, but the script doesn't convince with it's simplistic, almost stereotypical drawing of a complex figure. Lastly, Courtney Love is fine as Burroughs second wife Joan Vollmer, but once again the writing simplifies a multi-layered person into an easy to grasp "character".

It speaks volumes that Cronenberg's surreal 'Naked Lunch' manages to give a much richer and more convincing depiction of these tragic events than the more "realistic" 'Beat'. Perhaps the only way to really deal with the Beats on screen is to aim closer to the approach of their own poetry and prose. The definitive movie portrayal of Burroughs, Ginsberg and co has yet to made. I hope one does eventuate as it's a story that NEEDS to be told!

I enjoyed this film, the actors being excellent & NORMAN REEDUS a talent I had not previously had the luck to experience. Courtney Love & Keifer Sutherland are spot on as the duelling couple. Ron Livingston's part as Ginsberg is brief yet assured, & the dialogue is crackling. I bought this for £1 in Sainsburys whilst doing the shopping. It's one of my best DVD buys, actually. It's certainly an ambitious film, yet it works.

The scenes are the right length & the director never gets consumed with his subject- this could easily have been an obsessive project. All in all, a worthy look at the moment when Burroughs became a writer.

The last dregs of the so-called "Beat Generation"--writers in the early-1950s who used drugs and acted out their social and sexual desires--as gay writer William S. Burroughs has fled to Mexico with his wife Joan, only to see that marriage come to a shattering climax. Stylishly-presented, yet with practically no drive in the narrative (it's tough caring about these bored, reckless people when the direction is so dreamily disconnected). One character, Allen Ginsberg, literally ends up stranded on the roadside (for all we know, he's still there!). Performances are decent, if not dead-on: Kiefer Sutherland adopts a fey-yet-cynical manner that isn't really convincing, and Courtney Love keeps slipping into facile acting tips (faraway looks and open-mouthed depression). Both are watchable, but "Beat" should have been more. ** from ****