Kill Your Darlings (2013) Directed by John Krokidas

A biographical piece about the early college days of the earliest members of the beat generation with a great cast, editing and well done screenplay that manages to keep us interested in, to be honest, are not very likeable people overall. The story does give much sympathy to it's protagonist, Alan Ginsberg played by Daniel Radcliffe, but many of his friends seem to be no more than pretentious college kids who are all in some way or another living off other people, be it their family, girlfriend... whomever. The central conflict is the killing god professor David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) by Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) in a stabbing incident. The professor seems to be obsessed with Lucien, write his papers for him for sexual favours (according the screenplay - a fact disputed by the real Lucien. There are a couple points where the story loops back on itself, showing us something and going back to what led up to it then on from there and it really works. William S. Burroughs is played by Ben Foster, a role I would not even him taking as Burroughs is so well known it would be hard not to let your performance slip into parody. But  he doesn't and after seeing him in the roles a few minutes, I found him very convincing. 

The film is not full of action as you might imagine and all the better for it. The interplay among the characters, unlikeable as students they may be at times, never feels forced and it's these interactions that get you through the film. Radcliffe is great as is everyone else. Hall manages to be both stalker and sympathetic at times and the early beat scene is portrayed well without over dramatizing or exaggerating it. 

The film did very poorly in release, costing 6 million with a box office of only about 2 million and I wonder if it had been made more recently if it might have ended up a hit on a streaming platform as it seems well suited for that format which as of this writing seems to have a larger audience for a drama like than we are likely to see in cinemas again anytime soon, if ever. It deserves to be seen and bravo for those who put it together. 

Burroughs: The Movie 1983 directed by Howard Brookner

I discovered this film at a limited showing in Boston in 1983 and if I remember right, I was the only person in attendance. It was a highly acclaimed film so it wasn’t the film’s fault no one was there. I had been a long time admirer of William S. Burroughs, his writing and his eccentric ideas and particularly loved the way he read his own stories. I knew only bits and pieces of his history and was impressed at the information this movie gave me not just of the facts but of how it gave a real impression of the man Burroughs was and he he affected those around him. 

The filmmaker, Howard Brookner, followed Burroughs for 5 years and did an incredible amount of interviews with Bill’s friend’s and associates. The director and his subject because close friends during the project and it remains the only documentary that Burroughs participated in personally. Watching the subject interact with friends and places he knew since childhood you see glimpses of the real person under his very constructed public persona. Burrough's son died during the production, ending a very strained father/son relationship.

In 2012, archives of Brookner’s works were found in various locations and included all kinds of original materials and out-takes which were then reworked into a restored version of the documentary. Seeing it again really shows how much things have changed over the years. For one thing, it’s in square format something that has long since disappeared with the advent of the 16:9 standard being brought to televisions over recent years. It is without a doubt made on film, which gives it a look that digital just doesn’t have for better or worse. 

Sitting alone watching this the first time was like having a private viewing of a rare gem and seeing again I had that same feeling. I can’t recommend it enough.  Sadly it’s creator died of AIDS in 1989, working up to the very end and depriving us of who knows how many wonderful future projects he might have done.