Director:
John Krokidas Producer:Michael
Benaroya, Christine Vachon,
Rose Ganguzza,
John Krokidas
Story by:Austin
Bunn Screenplay by:John
Krokidas, Austin BunnMusic by:
Nico MuhlyCinematography:Reed MoranoEditing by:
Brian A. Kates
KILL YOUR DARLINGS is based on true events and
characters.
For dutiful son ALLEN GINSBERG (Daniel Radcliffe),
Columbia University is Meccaa portal to art, intellect,
culture, and freedomeverything hometown Patterson, New
Jersey is not. When Allen is accepted into Columbia, his
father LOUIS (David Cross), a working-class poet, urges
him to leave his emotionally ill mother NAOMI (Jennifer
Jason Leigh) behind and head to New York to go pursue
his own creative dreams.
At Columbia, Allen finds stuffy tradition clashing with
daringly modern ideas and attitudesembodied by LUCIEN
CARR (Dane DeHaan), whom he first encounters shouting a
scandalous passage from Henry Miller atop a library
study table. With his louche charm and androgynous blond
beauty, Lucien is an object of fascination for shy,
unsophisticated Allen, and soon he is drawn into
Luciens hard-drinking, reefer-smoking, jazz-clubbing
circle of friends, including WILLIAM BURROUGHS (Ben
Foster), the dissolute scion of a wealthy family, and
DAVID KAMMERER (Michael C. Hall), an older hanger-on who
clearly resents Allens position as Luciens new
sidekick. David apparently followed Lucien to New York,
and now works as a janitor despite his showy
intellectual pretensions. Lucien uses his moody charisma
to pit David against Allen while never quite
acknowledging his true feelings for either.
As their relationship deepens, Allen and Lucien realize
they both share emotionally troubled pasts and a passion
for poetry. Eager to shatter literary and social
conventions, Lucien is full of grandiose manifestosbut
its Allen whom he challenges to produce the work that
will set the world afire (and David who slavishly writes
Luciens school papers). While theyre busy competing
for his favor, Lucien finds his interest drawn to JACK
KEROUAC (Jack Huston), whos older, tougher, and
cockiera working-class ex-football player who shipped
out with the merchant marine, cohabits with sexy EDIE
(Elizabeth Olsen) andto really up the antewrites like
a wildman. Jacks oversize persona could easily crush
insecure Allen, but instead he encourages Allens poetry
writing.
