Review of Kill Your Darlings (2013) by Peter C — 09 Dec 2013

Promised more than it delivered (a bit like me).

Which is pity, because it starts off so well with a breath-taking scene in the university library in which the magnetic Dane DeHann as Lucien Carr jumps on top of a large oak table and recites poetry whilst straddling a regal table lamp - much to the horror of freshmen students and staid academics.

Thereafter, however, despite a few flashes of brilliance (including a wonderful slow motion sequence in a smoky jazz club), it all gets a bit hazy. A lot is alluded to - drugs, drink and wild debauchery - but not much is shown and that which is feels safe, conservative and contained.

On the acting front, Daniel Radcliffe is perfectly cast as the wide-eyed Allen Ginsberg and turns in probably his best screen performance to date. However the film belongs to DeHann who captures the seductiveness, danger and pain of Lucien Carr to a tee.

It's not a must-see, more a go-and-see.

If you're feeling footloose and fancy free,.

Possess a penchant for beat poetry,.

Pretty faces and witty repartee.

3/5.