Daniel Radcliffe is playing Allen Ginsberg in a new film, Kill Your Darlings.
Kill Your Darlings, written and directed by John Krokidas, centers on the friendship between Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Lucien Carr, members of the 1950s Beat movement.
Kill Your Darlings has been described as a thriller, as it recounts the story of Carr who besides introducing Ginsberg, Kerouac and William S Burroughs, famously murdered his lover, David Kammerer and was imprisoned in 1944.
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) was originally cast to play Ginsberg. There has been a slew of Allen Ginsberg roles on screen of late, most notably by David Cross (Arrested Development) in I’m Not There (2007), and by James Franco in Howl (2010).
This could prove an interesting film, for reasons far beyond the fact that Radcliffe will be playing a gay character, a point a lot of commentators can’t seem to get beyond right now. The Beats are always fascinating characters, and centering on Carr’s crime should be a clever angle.
I’m still dubious about Radcliffe’s suitability for the role. I’m pleased that he’s doing his best to distance himself from Harry Potter typecasting (except for maybe the glasses). He should, he’s a decent actor. I’m more concerned for the fact that he looks nothing like Allen Ginsberg. James Franco did a great job with the character in Howl, and even had the physicality to back it up. I suppose though, Cate Blanchette doesn’t look a great deal like Bob Dylan, and that still worked.
Official Trailer from Howl, the story of Allen Ginsberg’s renowned poem. Starring James Franco
by Kate Krake
Do you think Daniel Radcliffe will be able to pull off the character of Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings? Tell us in the comments below.
