Howl (2010)

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Maybe this should have been James Franco's other Oscar nomination. This movie has very edgy writing. I expected the writing to be very good, because it is about a poem. The performances were, well top notch obviously just look at the cast. It actually surprised me how great it actually was. Yes I was expecting it to be great, but it threw me off a little. You have 4 things going on during the movi... read more

Using the titular poem as a Launchpad, Howl is an ode to one of the most groundbreaking works of literature, a poem who took preconceived notions of style, voice and form in poetry and blasted them into the stratosphere. Narrowing in on a life as varied and richly lived as Allen Ginsberg’s was probably one of the smartest ideas the filmmakers had, as was casting James Franco, yet I couldn’t he... read more

Description: James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg - poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem HOWL. Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, HOWL is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comic James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg - poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem HOWL. Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, HOWL is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the passionate as a host of unusual witnesses (Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alesssandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban). ... (more) (less)