''Kill Your Darlings'' is a 2013 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written by Austin Bunn and directed by

John Krokidas John Krokidas is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for his directorial debut film, the 2013 biographical drama '' Kill Your Darlings''. Personal life Krokidas attended Yale University, where he originally enrol ...

in his feature film directorial debut. The film had its world premiere at the

2013 Sundance Film Festival The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival had 1,830 volunteers. Films A r ...

, garnering positive first reactions. It was shown at the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films were ...

, and it had a limited theatrical North American release from October 16, 2013. ''Kill Your Darlings'' became available on Blu-ray and DVD, March 18, 2014 in the US, followed by its UK release on April 21, 2014. The story is about the college days of some of the earliest members of the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

(

Lucien Carr Lucien Carr (March 1, 1925 – January 28, 2005) was a key member of the original New York City circle of the Beat Generation in the 1940s; later he worked for many years as an editor for United Press International. Early life Carr was born in Ne ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

, and

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

), their interactions, and Carr's killing of his long-time friend David Kammerer in Riverside Park in Manhattan, New York City.

Plot

In 1944, poet

(

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

) wins a place at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York City. He arrives as a very inexperienced

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, but soon runs into

(

Dane DeHaan Dane William DeHaan ( ; born February 6, 1986) is an American actor known for his roles as Andrew Detmer in '' Chronicle'' (2012), Lucien Carr in '' Kill Your Darlings'' (2013), Harry Osborn / Green Goblin in ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014) ...

), an unruly character who holds strong

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

beliefs. Ginsberg discovers that Carr only manages to stay at Columbia thanks to a professor working as a janitor, David Kammerer (

Michael C. Hall Michael Carlyle Hall (born February 1, 1971) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as Dexter Morgan, the titular character in the Showtime series ''Dexter,'' and David Fisher in the HBO drama series '' Six Feet Under.'' Thes ...

), who writes all of Carr's term papers for him. Kammerer has a predatory relationship with Carr and is in love with him, pressuring Carr for sexual favors in exchange for assuring that he cannot be expelled. As Ginsberg spent more time with Carr, he soon meets

(

Ben Foster Ben Foster may refer to: *Ben Foster (actor) (born 1980), American actor *Ben Foster (footballer) (born 1983), English goalkeeper *Ben Foster (composer) (born 1977), British composer, orchestrator and conductor * Ben Foster (director) (born 1984), ...

), who is far into drug experimentation, and the writer

(

Jack Huston Jack Alexander Huston (born 7 December 1982) is a British actor. He appeared as Richard Harrow in the HBO television drama series '' Boardwalk Empire''. He also had a supporting role in the 2013 film '' American Hustle'', portrayed the eponym ...

), who was a sailor at that time and expelled from Columbia. Together, these ambitious people decided to start a new literary movement named The New Vision as a rebellion towards laws, institutions and Ginsberg and Carr's lawful professor Steeves. As Ginsberg spirals into the lifestyle of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes along with his newfound friends, he slowly starts developing romantic feelings for Carr. Carr tells Kammerer he is done with him and recruits Ginsberg to write his term papers instead. Kammerer, in retaliation, puts Kerouac's cat into the oven only for Kerouac to discover and rescue it in the middle of the night. After a while, Kerouac and Carr attempt to run off and join the merchant marine together, hoping to go to Paris. In a confrontation between Carr and Kammerer, Kammerer is killed by stabbing and Carr is arrested. Carr asks Ginsberg to write his deposition for him. Ginsberg is at first reluctant to help the unstable Carr, but after digging up more crucial evidence on Kammerer and his past relationship, he writes a piece titled "The Night in Question". The piece describes a more emotional event, in which Carr kills Kammerer who outright tells him to after being threatened with the knife, devastated by this final rejection. Carr rejects the "fictional" story, and begs a determined Ginsberg not to reveal it to anybody, afraid that it will ruin him in the ensuing trial. From Carr's mother, it is revealed that Kammerer was the first person to seduce Carr, when he was much younger and lived in Chicago. After the trial, Carr testified that the attack took place only because Kammerer was a sexual predator, and that Carr killed him in self-defense. Carr is not convicted of murder and receives only a short sentence for manslaughter. Ginsberg then submits "The Night in Question" as his final term paper. On the basis of that shocking piece of prose, Ginsberg is faced with possible expulsion from Columbia. Either he must be expelled or he must embrace establishment values. He chooses the former, but is forced to leave his typescript behind. A week or two later he receives the typescript in the mail with an encouraging letter from his professor telling him to pursue his writing.

Cast

as David Kammerer *

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom ...

as Louis Ginsberg *

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She ...

as Naomi Ginsberg *

Elizabeth Olsen Elizabeth Chase Olsen (born February 16, 1989) is an American actress. Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Olsen began acting at age four. She starred in her debut film role in the thriller ''Martha Marcy May Marlene'' in 2011, for which she wa ...

Edie Parker Edie Kerouac-Parker (September 20, 1922 – October 29, 1993) was the author of the memoir ''You'll Be Okay'', about her life with her first husband, Jack Kerouac, and the early days of the Beat Generation. While an art student under Georg ...

John Cullum John Cullum (born circa 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and ''On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Mus ...

as Prof. Harrison Ross Steeves *

Erin Darke Erin Constance-Maja Darke is an American actress. She is known for her role as Cindy in the TV series ''Good Girls Revolt''. She also plays Mary in ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' and Leeta in the AMC series ''Dietland (TV series), Dietland''. She ...

as Gwendolyn *

Zach Appelman Zach Appelman (born August 5, 1985) is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is known for portraying Luke Detweiler in the 2013 film '' Kill Your Darlings'', Joe Corbin in the television series '' Sleepy Hollow'', and Alton Finn in t ...

as Luke Detweiler *

David Rasche David Rasche ( ; born August 7, 1944) is an American theater, film and television actor who is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1980s satirical police sitcom ''Sledge Hammer!'' Since then he has often played characters ...

Harry Carman Harry Carman (January 22, 1884 – December 26, 1964) was an American historian. Having attended Syracuse University followed by studies at Columbia, he became a professor at the latter, and served from 1943 to 1950 he served as its dean. During h ...

*Jon DeVries as Mortimer P. Burroughs *Leslie Meisel as Edith Cohen *Nicole Signore as Page *

Michael Cavadias Michael Cavadias (born February 16, 1970) is an American actor known for ''Wonder Boys'', the 2012 TV series ''Girls,'' and ''Difficult People'', as well as performing in theatre with the Mabou Mines and Blacklips. Early life and education Cavadi ...

as Ray Conklin *Jonathan Cantor as

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's best ...

Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick (; born August 19, 1965) is an American actress, producer and director. For her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama ''The Closer'', she won a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Awa ...

as Marion Carr *Kevyn Settle as Norman

Production

In 2008, while performing '' Equus'' on Broadway,

auditioned and got the part of Ginsberg. Radcliffe went on to film the last two ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' films, '' Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', and with him unavailable for filming, Chris Evans,

Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg (; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

, and

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

were cast without Radcliffe. Shortly after, financing for the film fell through. When director

started production on the film again, he offered the role of Ginsberg back to Radcliffe.

Release

Critical reaction

, ''Kill Your Darlings'' holds a 76% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 152 reviews with an average rating of 6.59/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bolstered by the tremendous chemistry between Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan, ''Kill Your Darlings'' casts a vivid spotlight on an early chapter in the story of the Beat Generation." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film had an average score of 65 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "Generally Favorable" reviews. The film earned $1,030,064 in limited release. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' granted the film a score of three out of five stars, stating that, "Unlike

Walter Salles Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (; born 12 April 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker. Early life Salles was born on 12 April 1956 in Rio de Janeiro and attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He is the son of Brazil ...

's recent

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

of ''

On the Road ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonis ...

'', which embraced the Beat philosophy with a wide and credulous grin, ''Kill Your Darlings'' is inquisitive about the movement's worth, and the genius of its characters is never assumed". Reviewing ''Kill Your Darlings'' after its showing at the

, critic Damon Wise of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' lauded the film for being "the real deal, a genuine attempt to source the beginning of America's first true literary counterculture of the 20th century". ''Kill Your Darlings'', wrote Wise, "creates a true sense of energy and passion, for once eschewing the clacking of typewriter keys to show artists actually talking, devising, and ultimately daring each other to create and innovate. And though it begins as a murder-mystery, ''Kill Your Darlings'' may be best described as an intellectual moral maze, a story perfectly of its time and yet one that still resonates today." Wise awarded the film four out of five stars. Justin Chang of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "A mysterious Beat Generation footnote is fleshed out with skilled performances, darkly poetic visuals and a vivid rendering of 1940s academia in ''Kill Your Darlings''. Directed with an assured sense of style that pushes against the narrow confines of its admittedly fascinating story, John Krokidas' first feature feels adventurous yet somewhat hemmed-in as it imagines a vortex of jealousy, obsession and murder that engulfed Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac in the early days of their literary revolution."

Historical inaccuracies or questionable assertions

Ginsberg's "long-time confidant and secretary, head of the Allen Ginsberg Trust," Bob Rosenthal, argues that the film is "a superb evocation of young college students in the midst of World War II finding their unique means of expression in the world." However, he states, it also contains a number of inaccuracies: "The large fabrications in the film are not so worrisome as the small ones. In any case, when the truth is stepped on and the nuance of truth is denied, the message becomes moribund." Caleb Carr went on to describe Kammerer as a sexual predator 14 years older than Lucien Carr, who first met Lucien when the latter was pubescent and had repeatedly taken advantage of the younger man's naivete and desperation for a strong male influence after being abandoned by his natural father. Furthermore, Kerouac, who wanted only platonic friendship from Lucien, provoked the jealousy of Kammerer. In contrast, according to Jack Kerouac's biographer Dennis McNally's account, Lucien Carr had always insisted, which William Burroughs (a childhood friend of Kammerer in St. Louis) believed, that he never had sex with Kammerer.McNally, Dennis, ''Desolate Angel'', Da Capo Press edition, 2003, p. 67

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kill Your Darlings (2013 Film) 2013 films 2013 biographical drama films 2013 directorial debut films 2013 independent films 2013 LGBT-related films 2013 romantic drama films 2013 thriller drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s romantic thriller films American biographical drama films American independent films American LGBT-related films American romantic drama films American romantic thriller films American thriller drama films Biographical films about LGBT people Biographical films about poets Films about the Beat Generation Films about student societies Films produced by Christine Vachon Films scored by Nico Muhly Films set in 1944 Films set in the 1940s Films set in New York City Films set in Columbia University Films shot in New York City Gay-related films Killer Films films LGBT-related romantic drama films LGBT-related thriller drama films Romance films based on actual events Sony Pictures Classics films Thriller films based on actual events William S. Burroughs 2010s American films