Review of William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010) by Keith P — 20 Feb 2011

This is a superb doco about a literary giant and generally inspiring human. With Ginsberg & Kerouac in the 50s, Burroughs kick-started the 'Beat Generation' and, arguably, the folk and punk movements that followed.

His then unpalatable persona; the gentleman junkie that shot his wife and wrote acerbic, expletive-filled, anti-establishment prose and verse, stands defiantly taller, long after his death. Peppered with adulation from the likes of Patti Smith, Allen Ginsberg and Laurie Anderson this film collates frank testimonials from his nearest and dearest.

The footage of Ginsberg and Burroughs chatting over a bowl of watermelon is but one part of a juicy concoction featuring Burroughs, the complete outsider, reading, wise-cracking and ageing most (dis-) gracefully.

His Thanks Giving poem particularly tells the truth about US hubris to perfection. His brave life and the genius of his writings seeded 'gay lib', though he drily asserts that he was never gay for a single day of his life, and he was certainly never part of any movement. Politically, he was anarchist; a person who believed in spiritual liberation. If you know nothing of Burroughs, you need to see this brilliant and extraordinary film about a brilliant and extraordinary man.