Review of Howl (2010) by Brad S — 11 May 2013

An interesting and different look at the influence the Beat Poet Allen Ginsberg, and his fellow Beat artists, had on freeing up the suppression of whqt wass thought to be subversive or obscene literature in America in the 1950's. I studied the Beats in middle and high school, but didn't really understand what they were up to until this current re-fascination with them thru movies like Howl, On the Road, and the upcoming Kill Your Darlings (2013). It's the current legalization and cultural acceptance of / controversy over gay marriage that is probably bringing the Beats back into the light because they helped free up our cultural expression to include anything and everything of who we all are in all our colors, including our sexuality, religious beliefs, and frustrations with expected societal norms.

The film is successful for what it is up to, but it lacks the emotional depth and connection to Allen Ginsberg as a more sympathetic character that I was craving. Nonetheless, I think the style of the film does justice to the style of Howl, being that it challenges expectations of what a story is, how it should be told, and what it should focus on.

Beautiful cinematography and production design and clever non-linear editing.