Review of Howl (2010) by Ericka J — 19 Jul 2011

This film is difficult to review because I cannot compare this film to major productions. This film is something of its own. The directors, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, took this script in their own hands and ran as far away from "Hollywood" biographical films as possible. And because of that it's refreshing. The movie is constantly flipping, like coin, from past, to present, to animation, and to the courtroom with such an elegant sense of purpose. The directors' main goal, it seems, is not to portray the life of Allen Ginsberg, but to show the significance of his book "Howl and other poems". They are emphasizing that Ginsberg's way of thinking and writing was revolutionary because for the first time an author used honesty, used the reality of everyday conversations and thought processes and wrote it down. Like Ginsberg says in the film, played by James Franco, it [the book] is to encourage honesty.

Franco must be given credit for his brilliant acting in this film. Everything about his celebrity personalty, everything that we conceive of him as a person through social/entertainment media evaporates. He becomes his own interpretation of Allen Ginsberg. He's not forcing a habit, a sound or a unique tick of Ginsbergs, but naturally embodies the soul and the idea of Ginsberg in this film.

Once again, I love biographical/documentary films because it always introduces me to new genres of literature, music, and to historical/iconic figures of the past whom I wouldn't have come across unless I never left the library.

If you want to understand and want to be revealed the truth of Ginsberg's "Howl", then you must watch this film.