Indie Gems: Kill Your Darlings

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The dark part of the Beat movement.

Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) enrolls at Columbia University in 1944 and meets Lucian Carr,(Dane DeHaan) a fellow student with a big vision. Allen is instantly infatuated with him, and is introduced to other writers, William Burroughs, (Ben Foster) Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and most importantly, David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) David and Lucian have a special relationship that seems very predatory. It results in Kammerer's death, and Ginsberg finds himself in the middle of an impossible situation.

I think out of all the movies I've seen on the Beat Gen, this is my favorite. It was a lot darker than Howl, for example, but it still had a bit of a pep in it's step. Despite not knowing a whole lot about these writers in real life (though now I'm even more intrigued after watching this) I didn't feel like it made me enjoy the film any less. The film doesn't exactly paint them in the best light, but that's appropriate.

The acting is top notch. Really, Radcliffe, DeHaan, Foster, Huston and Hall are all wonderful in their roles. Plus we get a little Elizabeth Olsen too, and that's always welcomed. Radcliffe really has blossomed as an actor. I think this is his best performance to date. Seeing Hall in this light is interesting too when you're so used to seeing him as Dexter. Although when it came to Jack Huston, I did miss the Richard Harrow voice a bit. I'm always going to.

Grade: A

Memorable Quote: "You're a phony." - Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe)

Comments

  1. .April 18, 2014 at 7:30 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 19, 2014 at 7:10 AM

      I loved seeing him in this, I've really only seen him in Dexter before.

      Delete
  2. Dan O.April 20, 2014 at 11:38 AM

    Good review Brittani. I really don't like these historical-figures. They've always came-off as being the types that we're always up their own asses, and was made even worse by the fact that anybody I ever knew who loved and adored these guys, were even more annoying about it. However, that said, the movie actually worked for me in a way that I got to see them all before they got all high on their food-chain and pretentious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 21, 2014 at 9:20 AM

      LOL. That's true about the pretentious thing, for sure.

      Delete
  3. UnknownApril 20, 2014 at 12:45 PM

    This is on my 'To Watch' list - disappointed it didn't have a bigger release here in the UK - Have you watched On the Road? Another Beat Generation film to recommend if not!

    Nell at And Nell Writes

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 21, 2014 at 9:19 AM

      I did see On The Road and I found it incredibly boring. I just could not get into it. I did enjoy Howl.

      Delete
    2. Brittani BurnhamApril 21, 2014 at 9:19 AM

      I did see On The Road and I found it incredibly boring. I just could not get into it. I did enjoy Howl.

      Delete
  4. Big Screen Small WordsApril 21, 2014 at 1:50 AM

    I'm not really familiar with their story, but I'd see this for Dan Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan. DeHaan really impressed me in Chronicle, so I'm always on the look out for his work.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 21, 2014 at 9:19 AM

      He's really great in this. I think you'll enjoy it, even if you're not caught up on the Beats. I'm not really either.

      Delete
  5. JoshApril 28, 2014 at 11:00 AM

    More praise for this movie... I really need to watch it!

    ReplyDelete

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