Review of Kill Your Darlings (2013) by Matt M — 17 Sep 2013

The story of the meeting between a Columbia University student called Allen Ginsberg with two other beat literary icons to be - Jack Kerouac and John Burroughs. The meeting takes place around the figure of Lucien, a suave rebellious figure who seems to inspire the three yet also often place them in dangerous situations.

Krodikas, in his first feature, revives the spirit of the beat writers by giving himself little time to complete the film, and even the slight imperfections in the cinematography recall the missing punctuations in a sentence by Kerouac.

Kill Your Darlings has a very modern feel and is suitably directed at a younger audience through a good use of and edgy style, a sexual charge and even by incorporating modern music in the soundtrack.

Furthermore, the aimed casting of Daniel Radcliffe as Ginsberg proves to be suited and his performance quite brave. While many will argue whether Krokidas went too far in making the beat culture look contemporary, there is no doubt about the fact that Kill Your Darlings is an appealing and fashionable take on the times as well as a harrowing look at the harrowing pain behind the greatest of artists.