Review of Howl (2010) by Khondaker H — 09 Jan 2011

Allen Ginsberg's 1956 poem Howl, a masterpiece of the Beat Generation, scandalized America. And as the flamboyant and erudite poet, James Franco delivers one of his best performances to date. Franco reads the entirety of Ginsberg's poem throughout the film, while music-video type animation plays out the words with staggering visuals. Sure, sometimes the accent can sound like a mimic of Franco's Milk co-star Sean Penn's portrayal of another gay icon, Harvey Milk, but there's no denying the ferocity in Franco's reading. Howl is no typical bio-pic. This genre-defying film courtesy of directors Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein (The Celluloid Closet) is more like Todd Haynes' Dylan manifesto I'm Not There. The readings and animation are intercut with Ginsberg's own narration on his life and inspiration for his famous work, as well as scenes of the obscenity trial that followed Howl's publication. In between are Ginsberg's friendship with Kerouac and his ill-fated romance with the late Neal Cassaday, as well as his eventual meeting of his partner (cutie Aaron Tveit).

The court scenes are entertaining, but mostly feel like forced drama. Bob Balaban is great as the judge presiding over the case, as is David Strathairn as an over-zealous prosecutor. Jon Hamm is great, although he looks exactly like his Mad Men counterpart Don Draper, which is distracting. But Howl is hardly like anything we've seen before, even if it does trip up on some of its grander ambitions.