By
Humbler Acts
"I'VE STRUGGLED WITH THIS FILM!"
I have struggled with the film "KILL YOUR DARLINGS" for the last twenty-four hours, trying to come to grips with how I might report on it. It's one of the poorest films I have ever seen; and yet what it tries to do is probably quite worth someone's while.
... "THE HORRIBLE TITLE... !"
Before I get into the personalities of the movie- the first four Beat Writers that started a movement back in the mid nineteen-forties- let me first talk about the horrible title of this movie, "KILL YOUR DARLINGS": What in the world is this trying to say? It's a preposterous thought issued by a professor who is teaching future writers in one class at Columbia; The idea is that writers are urged to kill any "darling" thoughts they may have-- BEFORE they write them into the work they hope to get published... In other words: don't trust any thoughts or feelings that come to one's mind that one holds dear-- lest one bomb with future readers. So the title comes from this harsh admonishment.
... "A PERFECT EXAMPLE... !"
Here's a perfect example of a director-writer taking something that was said one hundred years ago by another person in another place with all sorts of essays preceding and following his statement... Taking it out of all that context makes its meaning change. Whether such a thing was really said and heard by these four writers, the movie has used it as the motive for how they acted and the actual slaying done by one of these four on a fifth peripheral man who had been a "darling" to him for oh so many years.. So there's a phoniness I felt in how the film was rigged.
... "A STRONG GRAIN OF PURE SALT... !"
Think a moment about all of the great writing as well as all the ideas that have come from the minds of creative people through the ages-- that would never have seen the light of day had folks followed strictly what this title admonished-and I'm sure you'll see that it ought never be taken without a strong grain of pure salt.
... "CASTING OFF THESE 'DARLINGS'"... !
... But be that as it may, the interaction of these four men starts the film rolling: There is Allen Ginsburg (played by David Radcliffe), Lucian Carr (played by Dane DeHaan), William Burroughs (played by Ben Foster) and lastly, Jack Kerouac (by Jack Huston). They all interact and play off each other as they strive to kill all their darlings. Several of their "darlings" seem to be any of the restraints they may have picked up from their home's nurturing, younger influences, or just fear of the great unknown. Casting off these "darlings", they gradually start to experiment with drugs, sex and hitherto forbidden crass experiences. Visual proofs afflict this film. The fifth guy who is not at Columbia as a student but somehow exerts an influence on them through his gay liaison with Lucian Car is one David Kammerer (who's played by Michael C Hall).
... "START OF A NEW VISION... !"
I think what director and writer John Krokidas and writer Austin Bunn attempted to do was show us the start of a new vision these men had and how they went about developing their lives with it. But unfortunately, we have no empathy for these fellows. They say their names and we say, 'WOW, HI THERE!... SO WHAT MADE YOU SO GREAT?' Their lives are like snips of paper- hurriedly cut from books and pasted on a wall. But there's not much else to behold. And I doubt that one soul in the audience lost a moment's peace when Kammerer was stabbed to death by his fraught victim, Lucian Carr. Since then gay-hood has been relieved of its terrible scourge; and possibly these men helped hasten its needed freedom. But I don't think this film can take any credit for helping us understand that.
... A MILD AND FORLORN FOUR... !"
My ranking on "KILL YOUR DARLINGS" can only be a very mild and forlorn FOUR.
I have struggled with the film "KILL YOUR DARLINGS" for the last twenty-four hours, trying to come to grips with how I might report on it. It's one of the poorest films I have ever seen; and yet what it tries to do is probably quite worth someone's while.
... "THE HORRIBLE TITLE... !"
Before I get into the personalities of the movie- the first four Beat Writers that started a movement back in the mid nineteen-forties- let me first talk about the horrible title of this movie, "KILL YOUR DARLINGS": What in the world is this trying to say? It's a preposterous thought issued by a professor who is teaching future writers in one class at Columbia; The idea is that writers are urged to kill any "darling" thoughts they may have-- BEFORE they write them into the work they hope to get published... In other words: don't trust any thoughts or feelings that come to one's mind that one holds dear-- lest one bomb with future readers. So the title comes from this harsh admonishment.
... "A PERFECT EXAMPLE... !"
Here's a perfect example of a director-writer taking something that was said one hundred years ago by another person in another place with all sorts of essays preceding and following his statement... Taking it out of all that context makes its meaning change. Whether such a thing was really said and heard by these four writers, the movie has used it as the motive for how they acted and the actual slaying done by one of these four on a fifth peripheral man who had been a "darling" to him for oh so many years.. So there's a phoniness I felt in how the film was rigged.
... "A STRONG GRAIN OF PURE SALT... !"
Think a moment about all of the great writing as well as all the ideas that have come from the minds of creative people through the ages-- that would never have seen the light of day had folks followed strictly what this title admonished-and I'm sure you'll see that it ought never be taken without a strong grain of pure salt.
... "CASTING OFF THESE 'DARLINGS'"... !
... But be that as it may, the interaction of these four men starts the film rolling: There is Allen Ginsburg (played by David Radcliffe), Lucian Carr (played by Dane DeHaan), William Burroughs (played by Ben Foster) and lastly, Jack Kerouac (by Jack Huston). They all interact and play off each other as they strive to kill all their darlings. Several of their "darlings" seem to be any of the restraints they may have picked up from their home's nurturing, younger influences, or just fear of the great unknown. Casting off these "darlings", they gradually start to experiment with drugs, sex and hitherto forbidden crass experiences. Visual proofs afflict this film. The fifth guy who is not at Columbia as a student but somehow exerts an influence on them through his gay liaison with Lucian Car is one David Kammerer (who's played by Michael C Hall).
... "START OF A NEW VISION... !"
I think what director and writer John Krokidas and writer Austin Bunn attempted to do was show us the start of a new vision these men had and how they went about developing their lives with it. But unfortunately, we have no empathy for these fellows. They say their names and we say, 'WOW, HI THERE!... SO WHAT MADE YOU SO GREAT?' Their lives are like snips of paper- hurriedly cut from books and pasted on a wall. But there's not much else to behold. And I doubt that one soul in the audience lost a moment's peace when Kammerer was stabbed to death by his fraught victim, Lucian Carr. Since then gay-hood has been relieved of its terrible scourge; and possibly these men helped hasten its needed freedom. But I don't think this film can take any credit for helping us understand that.
... A MILD AND FORLORN FOUR... !"
My ranking on "KILL YOUR DARLINGS" can only be a very mild and forlorn FOUR.
Humbler Acts, creator of "THE WIZARD'S OUTRAGEOUS SCHEME FOR
STOPPING SMOKING", reports one film every week as relaxation from his
speaking and writing on stopping smoking through dream use and Seven
Forces. He's American, English-educated. residing in St. Louis, MO
(USA). He can be reached: humbleracts@aol.com or telephone: 314-574-7681.
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