Kill Your Darlings (2013)

A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

Director:

John Krokidas

Writers:

Austin Bunn (screenplay), Austin Bunn (story)

Stars:

Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall

5 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Radcliffe	...	Allen Ginsberg
Dane DeHaan	...	Lucien Carr
Michael C. Hall	...	David Kammerer
Jack Huston	...	Jack Kerouac
Ben Foster	...	William Burroughs
David Cross	...	Louis Ginsberg
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Naomi Ginsberg
Elizabeth Olsen	...	Edie Parker
John Cullum	...	Professor Steeves
Brenda Wehle	...	Permissions Librarian
Erin Darke	...	Gwendolyn
Craig Chester	...	Businessman
Lenore Harris	...	DA Secretary
Mark Ethan	...	Campus Guard
Zach Appelman	...	Luke Detweiler

Storyline

In the early 1940s, Allen Ginsberg is an English major at Columbia University, only to learn more than he bargained for. Dissatisfied by the orthodox attitudes of the school, Allen finds himself drawn to iconoclastic colleagues like Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Together, this gang would explore bold new literary ideas that would challenge the sensibilities of their time as the future Beat Generation. However, for all their creativity, their very appetites and choices lead to more serious transgressions that would mark their lives forever.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to tulane university | victory in europe day | reference to d. h. lawrence | barrel | pervitin | 

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Taglines:

A true story of obsession and murder

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, language, drug use and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Page Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2013 (Croatia)

Also Known As:

Ubij svoje najdraže

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$53,452, 18 October 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,029,949, 23 February 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Killer Films,Benaroya Pictures,Outpost Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Daniel Radcliffe met girlfriend Erin Darke on set.

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Goofs

The Columbia University library tour guide proudly identifies a book as a first folio edition of "Hamlet." There is no such edition. "Hamlet" was published in quarto editions (half the size of folio) during Shakespeare's life. The only folio editions of Shakespeare's work were the posthumous collections of his complete plays.

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Quotes

Allen Ginsberg: [reading his poem] Be careful, you are not in Wonderland. I've heard the strange madness long growing in your soul, in your isolation but you fortunate in your ignorance. You who have suffered find where love hides, give, share, lose, lest we die unbloomed.
Jack Kerouac: Allen, that was beautiful, kid.
Lucien Carr: You wrote that?
Allen Ginsberg: You asked me to.

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Crazy Credits

The first part of the end credits run over the top of photographs of the real Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Lucien Carr and William S. Burroughs.

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Connections

Featured in Film '72: Episode dated 3 December 2013 (2013)

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Soundtracks

VG's Blues
Written by Vince Giordano
Performed by Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks Orchestra (as Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks)

User Reviews

Much better then On The Road This movie made me want to watch that one again now that I know more about the relationships.

"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.