The Beat Poets movement was all about breaking the rules, about fighting clichés and traditions, about shaking things up, about the rough edges of life, about confronting the establishment. If I would make a film about this movement, it would be a film with a similar attitude. By all means, I wouldn't want it to be a conventional film.
This is where I'm different from John Krokidas. 'Kill Your Darlings', his film about the Beat Poets, is extremely conventional. It's polished and traditional, not controversial or innovative. It doesn't have any rough edges, nor does it shake things up.
It tells the story of Allen Ginsberg, the young student who gets introduced to a group of rebellious fellow students, and to their unconventional way of living. He even gets involved in a gay love triangle with fatal consequences.
This is interesting material, but the film doesn't do anything with it, apart from showing it in nice, perfect images. The jazz club where they come together looks nice, their clothes look nice, everything is nice. But the Beat Poets weren't nice, they were out of control, angry and mad. The film should have been angry and mad too, but it isn't. And that's a pity.
This is where I'm different from John Krokidas. 'Kill Your Darlings', his film about the Beat Poets, is extremely conventional. It's polished and traditional, not controversial or innovative. It doesn't have any rough edges, nor does it shake things up.
It tells the story of Allen Ginsberg, the young student who gets introduced to a group of rebellious fellow students, and to their unconventional way of living. He even gets involved in a gay love triangle with fatal consequences.
This is interesting material, but the film doesn't do anything with it, apart from showing it in nice, perfect images. The jazz club where they come together looks nice, their clothes look nice, everything is nice. But the Beat Poets weren't nice, they were out of control, angry and mad. The film should have been angry and mad too, but it isn't. And that's a pity.