“Kill Your Darlings” is a beautiful and enthralling tale about love, friendship, murder and having the courage to be true to yourself. This would be a welcome addition to anyone’s collection.
The story begins as Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) is accepted into Columbia University. Not long after beginning his academic enlightenment, he meets Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), a fellow student who opens Allen’s eyes to a world of hard-drinking and sultry jazz, and the beginning of a literary revolution. As new feelings emerge, and Lucien’s easy-living life becomes out of control, Allen is led down a road of obsession and murder.
It's really hard to believe little Harry Potter is all grown up, but this dark and twisted role is far from the boy who lived and Radcliffe revels in every second. He does a fantastic job of playing both sides of Ginsberg: the quiet, shy college boy to the chain-smoking, booze-drinking literary revolutionary. One of the strongest scenes of the whole film is one in which Ginsberg finally comes to terms with his sexuality. Most of the film, he teeters the line between friendship and love, and when he finally accepts that part of himself, it's quite liberating.
DeHaan is quite fantastic as Carr. He's so boisterous and charismatic it's hard not to fall in love with his character, and that's exactly why Ginsberg does so. Carr shows him a brand new world without rules and regulations, but what starts off as a colorful friendship quickly turns sour. DeHaan is charming enough to make anyone fall in love with him but instantly becomes cold to people who no longer serve his purpose. The friendship between Ginsberg and Carr is the driving force for this film, and sometimes that relationship is lost amongst the crowd.
"Kill Your Darlings" is a wonderful story, but sometimes has a hard time knowing exactly what direction it wants to go in. For the most part, you see Carr and Ginsberg's relationship, but you're also given occasional glimpses into the lives of Jack Kerouac or William Burroughs, which is fine, except the intersecting stories don't all mesh so well.
This is a wonderful film that unfortunately seemed to be lost in the crowd, but that I would highly recommend. Just prepared to have your vision of Harry Potter changed forever.
The Blu-ray has some spectacular features, including commentary from Radcliffe and DeHaan, "In Conversation with Daniel Radcliffe and Austin Bunn" and a few deleted scenes.
Film: 4 Yaps Features: 3.5 Yaps