soerenbruns The overall solid, but ultimately mediocre "Kill Your Darlings" reveals its key problem at the very beginning. We see a dead body held by a character suggesting that some sort of murder will play a central role in the film. Hence, we will end up watching a crime drama. The problem is that the moment the story turns in that direction, the film loses its focus. But first we are introduced to the very young Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) who enrols in college where he meets the very young Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), William Burroughs (Ben Foster) and eventually Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston). The first half of the film revolves around their frustrations with the conventions of poetry and literature they are taught at Columbia. The professors insist on strict rules one has to apply so that "creation equals imitation" . They are disgusted by the fetishisation of rhyme and metre. Inspired by poets as Yates and Whitman, they decide to write a manifesto propagating free expression of the self without any boundaries as writing's highest virtue, resulting in acts of disobedience like replacing several "high works" in the library for example the original version of Beowulf with works of personal role models like Melville. For that part of the film, "Kill Your Darlings" is a fairly engaging if all too standard period piece that checks every box with vivid jazz music, smoking in bars,emphasis on old-fashion dressing styles and technology as record players and scratchy radio sound while it is at the same time a depiction of a group of idealistic artists with the expected scenes of alcohol and drug abuse, hectic writing on a typewriter and the rebellion against authority figures like the professors. This is fine, even though one cannot help but feel that a depiction of these artists in their prime would maybe make the more interesting film. But if we perceive them as the literary Avengers, than this has to be considered their origin story. As already mentioned, the turning point where the film really loses momentum is marked by the murder of David Kammerer (David C. Hall) a dubious mentor-like figure for Lucien Carr. Here the standard period piece with interesting central characters becomes an even more standard crime story/court drama, where the characters' appeal dissolves in the genre's basic themes of rage, revenge and guilt. From that point on, it does not really matter that we are dealing with literary geniuses. Sure, this story is part of their life. But if you decide to make a movie about Allan Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, do you really need to focus on a gloomy murder story that we have seen so many times before with the only difference being that these characters incidentally have changed the literary landscape of the second half of the twentieth century? For what it's worth, you could place those characters in a bar having them smoking, drinking and discussing art for two hours and you could end up with an engaging piece of film that truly explores the workings of these characters' minds. It definitely would be more ingenious than what we witness here. Many have pointed out the film's central contradiction of depicting people that think in a very unconventional manner with quite conventional means. At least, the actors try their best to bring the artists' unique approach not only to literature but to life in general to the screen. Daniel Radcliffe does a good job at playing the very introvert Ginsberg at the start of his studies who eventually breaks more and more out of his shell and seems to experience what it means to be alive for the first time. It is unfortunate that Ginsberg had a thing for those round spectacles which are quite iconic but also unmistakably reminiscent of a certain young wizard. All the more surprising then, how strikingly Radcliffe shakes this notion off and manages to portray Ginsberg in a convincing manner. The same is true for the central performances of DeHaan, Foster and Huston who individually bring the antics of their quite eccentric characters to life without overdoing it (especially Foster balances on a tightrope here) and collectively have a vivid chemistry between them. They are surrounded by a decent supporting cast with David Cross, the always welcome Elizabeth Olsen and a small but noticeable part by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Given that everything about this movie is fairly run-of-the-mill, the at times odd choice of music seems like a slightly desperate attempt to appear unorthodox. Apart from the aforementioned use of Jazz as a time marker we hear some anachronistic pieces of post-punk that kind of fit the scenery, but also one song in particular that completely kills the mood which is the (normally delightful) "Don't Look Back Into the Sun" by the Libertines. It plays over the end credits. Soundaestethically it completely counters everything we have just seen and heard before, which is somewhat reminiscent of the infamous "Goodfellas" end credits which I also have never been a big fan of, but whose moment of surprise I can acknowledge. This is just trying too hard. Where "Marie Antoinette" fails to follow up the snotty "Natural's Not in It" of the opening credits, "Kill Your Darlings" ends on a very rousing note while both movies deliver a very tame rendition of their real characters' astonishing lives. In both cases the choice of music may reveal that the films are not even closely as courageous and offbeat as they think they are. Just as the title is not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. I mean, come on. Really?Incidentally the fact that it does carry a double meaning - since an actual murder is part of the story - is the first hint at why this movie cannot live up to the expectations a film about the Beat poets evokes in the first place.

Bryan Kluger Over the past few years, the Beat Generation that spawned writers and poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac has returned to cinema screens in documentaries ('William S. Burroughs: A Man Within'), bio-pics ('Howl') and adaptations of their work ('On the Road'). However, none has covered the time period where all of these writers met in college and were part of a murder. First time feature filmmaker John Krokidas tackles this story and knocks it out of the park with his jazzy, drug-induced opus called 'Kill Your Darlings'.This film shows the very beginning of the Beat Generation, including the friendships and influences that shaped these iconic writers that we study today. 'Kill Your Darlings' starts out almost like a thriller in the vein of 'Se7en', with Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) in a jail cell, talking to his supposed friend who has just murdered somebody. We then flash back to earlier in the year, when the young Allen heads out to college for the first time.This is a difficult decision for Allen. His father Louis (David Cross, who actually played Allen Ginsberg in Todd Haynes' 'I'm Not There'), wants his son to stay home and look after his unstable, schizophrenic mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Nonetheless, Allen ships off to Columbia University, which he's clearly emotional about. During his orientation, an older and very charismatic student named Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) leaps onto the library desk and shouts out sexually explicit writings from Henry Miller. This peaks Allen's interest immediately.The two become friends. Lucien takes Allen under his sick and twisted wing, showing him the insane New York nightlife – its jazz clubs with sketchy characters, and a great deal of drugs. At an apartment party, Allen meets William Burroughs (Ben Foster), who's first seen sitting in a bathtub, fully clothed and inhaling nitrous oxide. A little later, he's introduced to Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), the oldest of the bunch. Kerouac is charming and tough, but has problems with his girlfriend (Elizabeth Olsen, who in my opinion is not used to her full talent here).Still coming to terms with his who he is, Allen begins to have feelings for Lucien. However, he soon realizes that Lucien uses his charm and sex appeal to get what he wants, like making Allen write his college essays for him, since he doesn't have any real talent of his own. Through this time, the four writers hit the town in a drug induced stupor. These drug-fueled nights send Allen banging away at his typewriter keyboard, even pleasuring himself while writing.Some of the best parts of the film involve watching these future iconic writers simply being college kids and friends. They laugh, drink, smoke and even pull pranks. One scene resembles something out of 'Animal House', as the four break into the library after dark to swap the literature passages displayed in glass cases with images of porn and death. Director Krokidas uses modern music to show that these students were ahead of their time and had a rebellious side.Eventually, Krokidas constructs a sequence that culminates with the Riverside Park murder of David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), a peripheral friend with a creepily unhealthy obsession with Lucien.The actors all turn in amazing performances. Radcliffe and DeHaan shine over the rest, since they have much more to work with. DeHaan gives Lucien so much magnetism and charm that it's hard not to like him, even though we shouldn't.Not only is this a movie about a murder, it's a movie about some of the most famous authors of the 20th Century, finding out who they are and who they will eventually set out to be. It sure is one hell of a coming of age story.

Sarah Kenny I can't begin to answer this question. Kill Your Darlings is somewhat a coming-of-age film about Alan, a wannabe poet, entering the world of university and encountering a dark-humoured, romantic boy-with-a-past, Lucien. This part is pretty predictable, and what comes immediately after is also somewhat to the book. However, KYD will most likely touch you in some deep place if, like me, you enjoy black comedy, rebellion, and wannabe revolutionaries. There is everything to enjoy about this movie, and, what's more, it's based on a true story, so the story doesn't end once the credits start rolling. Don't you just love a film where you can do a little research? I do! Cinematography is wonderful, dialogue is beautiful, and Dane DeHaan is fantastic as always. I was close to giving it ten stars, but since I've literally just finished watching it, I thought I'd let my starry-eyed-ness die down a little before reaching a concrete verdict. Eight stars it is.

Thaneevuth Jankrajang The film would be enjoyed by fans of the Beat Generation's poets and homosexuals who take their birth rights seriously, or both. I am a homosexual and I did enjoy this one tremendously. Not in so many films that homosexuality serves only as an undertone, despite some visualized images of homosexual lovemaking. Absolute love of freedom becomes the overriding theme of this bunch of homosexual artists. I think this film will get all of us closer to a natural treatment of the third sex. Homosexuals would be equaled to heterosexuals when their "issue" ceases to be an issue for the public at large. The film is not trying to tell the whole story of these artists. Just a very thin slice was chosen to be told, and what a slice it was. My country, Thailand, is still stuck with the 18th Century superhuman theory of politics. All moral codes are determined by how much you love and glorify the king. Nothing else really matters. Even a murder is construed by law as being better than libeling the king, his family members, and his men. So I understand how it feels to be so free, and be met with ultra-conservatism at times. Madness can come as a result of being free, but the lack of it would drive you insane. Quite a different of psychological episodes. I encourage you to watch this film and do more research about these characters. You will end up knowing a lot more about yourself.