Kill Your Darlings (2013)

Director: John Krokidas

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall, Ben Foster, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen, Dane DeHaan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Cross, Kyra Sedgwick

More info: IMDb

Plot: While he is attending Columbia University in 1944, the young Allen Ginsberg’s life is turned upside down when he sets eyes on Lucien Carr, an impossibly cool and boyishly handsome classmate. Carr opens Ginsberg up to a bohemian world and introduces him to William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Repelled by rules and conformity in both life and literature, the four agree to tear down tradition and make something new, ultimately formulating the tenets of and giving birth to what became the Beat movement. On the outside, looking in, is David Kammerer, a man in his thirties desperately in love with Carr. When Kammerer is found dead, and Kerouac, Burroughs, and Carr are arrested in conjunction with the murder, the nascent artists’ lives change forever.

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Do I recommend it? YES!

WOW!  KYD is engaging, at times funny and filled with fantastic performances all the way around.  There's not a weak link in the bunch.  Don't let the glasses fool you, Harry Potter loses himself in the role of Allen Ginsberg after 2.5 seconds.  It was no small chore to NOT look at Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan from DEXTER.  That's completely my fault as I haven't seen him in anything else.

The film looks remarkable and writer/director Krokidas told us in the Q&A session that followed they achieved that look of the 1940s for practically nothing.  He also told us how personal a film this was for him as a homosexual and it's not a stretch to see why through the character of Ginsberg.  And I can't go without mentioning Dane DeHann's fine performance.  It was a real treat to see all of these actors and crew bring this these characters and story to life.  It's one of the best films I've seen so far (as of Monday).