Review of Howl (2010) by Lauren B — 30 Dec 2012

Written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) and The Celluloid Closet (1995)), this is a very offbeat and experimental biopic of how Allen Ginsberg came to create his 1955 poem Howl, and the trouble it caused in it's wake.

Doing films about writing can be tricky, they can come across as too dull or too weird, but this finds a comfortable middle ground, even if it is very weird. Howl doesn't just look at how Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) came to create the titular poem, but it focuses on his life at that time too, from the late 1940's and into the 1950's and how he came to become one of the most renowned of the Beat Poets.

It shows Ginsberg performing a debut reading of Howl at the Six Gallery Reading in San Francisco on October 7, 1955. It's also juxtaposed with a obscenity trial of San Francisco poet and City Lights Bookstore co-founder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Andrew Rogers), who in 1957 published the poem in a book called "Howl and Other Poems".

Ginsberg's poem is brought to life with animation throughout. It's a very offbeat film, but Franco gives a very good performance as Ginsberg, a man who kept to himself but was a leading figure in the Beat Generation.

It makes the most of cinematic techniques, and shifts between animation and live action at the flick of a switch. It's not for everyone though, and whether or not you've read the poem, you'll want to read it as soon as the film finishes.