Review of Kill Your Darlings (2013) by Guillermo G — 13 Apr 2014

As a viewer I am glad that the director and writer gave us more than a peek into the lives of these writers and poets. Bravo to first time director John Krokidas because he pulled it off and it kept me very engaged from the start to its somewhat sad and shocking conclusion.

The title is an ingenious play on words because as I watched it there is a scene in a classroom where it was explained that William Faulkner once said, "In writing, you must kill all your darlings.

" He was admonishing authors from relying on their personal favorite elements and the plot of the film is about people using and exploiting others until the line is crossed and a murder impacts the circle of friends.

Isn't it ironic that one of America's most celebrated poets (Allen Ginsberg) was expelled from Columbia University...The film is intense drama, solid acting by Daniel Radcliffe as Ginsberg and Michael Hall as David Krammerer.

The most shocking aspect of this tale is that it IS real, yes inspired by true events! One character I despised during the film is Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), a classmate of Ginsberg that seems to become the object of affection of both men (Ginsberg and Krammerer).

Out of all the critics reviews I echo Julian Wood's from FILMINK who said: "A strong and well observed fifties period piece, Kill Your Darlings brilliantly captures both the heady sense of privilege, and the decadent whiff of The Beat Generation's brief and blazing demimonde.

" It was that and much more, I even want to read "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac which was mentioned at the end of the film. This is an adult geared film, an intellectual film really and one that reveals the dark side of human nature, how people manipulate others and the cowardice shown by not being true to yourself! I am surprised so many customers on Redbox gave this one a bad review, clearly the masses are not educated and their ignorance is lamentable.

Highly recommended!!