HOWL

"The Obscenity Trial That Started a Revolution. The Poem That Rocked a Generation."

One thing missing from this equation? paper

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked...

I love the poetry of Allen Ginsberg for numerous reasons, but the top 3 are:

1. His frank, stark honesty liberated an entire generation of writers.
2. Poems like Howl are written, as the name would suggest, to be exclaimed passionately and vigorously against "the man" (inner angel-headed hipster breaking out there...)
3. The poem America gave me license to use the word FUCK in a final Honours exam. UP YOURS SQA!

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's Howl suggests an insightful study of the court case that shook up the boundaries of American literature for generations to follow. And it does so, neatly, concisely and, at times, humorously. 

The 1957 obscenity trial held against Ginsberg's publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, for publishing such "gross, vulgar and offensive" language, highlights precisley what the audience need to know about the trial and not a stitch more.

The reason being that this is without doubt an academic study of Ginsberg himself: his inspirations, anxieties and motivation to write. From the mental illness of his mother and close friend, Carl Solomon, to his unrequited love of fellow Beat writer, Jack Kerouac, and the difficulty he had embracing an openly homosexual life - this tells all. 

But this ain't no linear flashback depiction. The narrative skips between documentary style interviews, animation, courtroom transcriptions and archival footage...yet somehow, quite miraculously, it works creating an engaging insight into an intensely troubled, but open, mind. 

Trippy, dudddeeee

From the hallucinatory animations to the coffee house readings, the poem pulses steadily throughout the film, carrying the story with it, in an almost rhythmic way; moments of poetic darkness are subtley complimented by troubled insight into Ginsberg's motivation to write that particular stanza.

Smart-bespeckled park smuggery - the perfect Autumnal past-time

And who better to play a poet renowned for his frankness - why James Franco, of course! (sorry, that was painful) And he does not fail to impress - his performance is outstanding. Regardless as to your familiarity with Ginsberg's work, he clearly gives a moving and convincing portrayal of a conflicted young writer. For those of you familiar with Ginsberg's style and mannerisms, you will be suitably impressed with Franco's commitment to the role. He does not miss a beat (again, apologies!)

Any excuse for some unashamed Don Draper action

Jon Hamm makes a relatively small, but notable, appearance as Ferlinghetti's defence lawyer in the courtroom scenes, and Jeff Daniels, makes a similar small splash as an amusingly contradictory professor of English Literature.

To an audience with little interest in the "Beat generation" this may appear to be a somewhat self-indulgent ode to an ode, and to them I say perhaps sit this one out.

But to everyone else I say watch, enjoy and prepare to feel impassioned.




"Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness!" Allen Ginsberg

2011: A Promising Film Odyssey

Specsavers 2011 Spring/Summer Collection

"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked..." They just don't write 'em like that anymore, but apparently they can adapt 'em into partially animated feature length films.

Rob Epstein and Jeffry Friedman's potrayal of the 1957 obscenity trial held over Allen Ginsberg's celebrated poem, "Howl", presents the audience with a combination of archive footage, animated illustrations of the poem and some reportedly sterling acting from James Franco.

Not released in the UK until February 2011 this is just one of many literary masterpieces that I am simultaneously anxious and terrified of seeing translated to film.



Ok, maybe "terrified" is a tad strong, but if you haven't already gathered from my slaughtering of Scorsese's "Shutter Island" I really HATE it when an adaptation goes wrong. You know that feeling of intense disappointment like when you realise a celebrity is actually a total prat in real life and it totally taints everything else they ever do (yeah Christian Bale I'm talkin to you): you just want to ask why, jump through a portal in time back to a better, simpler place where ignorance reigned and everything was rosy. This is how I feel when I see an excellent book poorly adapted to film, so needless to say my anxiety levels are gradually rising with the impending release of various literary classics on the silver screen.

Next case in point, arguably the best novel of American 20th Century literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

Ahh, the X Factor has just started.

Now, when you entitle something as "arguably the best of a century" the bar has already been set inconceivably high, so it's little wonder that many (4 in total) have attempted to bring this lavish and tragic tale of wealth and desire to the silver screen in the past. Most notably, Jack Clayton's 1974 offering wound up being somewhat of a flop, atmospheric as it is. Even the radioactive Robert Redford and Mia Farrow couldn't bring this back from the brink of mundane.

Seems bizarre that a text so rich in imagery, full of characters absolutely dripping in pathos, in an era of extreme decadence could be anything other than a visual feast.

I refuse to be disheartened though, and I'll stand resilient in the hope that the upcoming film adaptation of the novel will do it some justice. With Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, SURELY I won't be let down - famous last words...

"Dear diary, today I met a boy..."

Hunter S. Thompson's novel The Rum Diary follows the soul-searching adventure of journalist Paul Kemp, writing, drinking and fighting his way around the Carribean. Brilliant. So when I heard this was being made into a film starring Johnny Depp (of course) I was delighted. That was about 3 years ago, so the fact they're finally in the post-production stages feels like like a long overdue treat. My only concern is that the hype has been building (in my head anyway) for so long now that it won't live up to expectations, but with Depp's dedication to Thompson's work and if "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is anything to go by, I shouldn't be let down. Roll on 2011...

My face is the same when I forget my travel scrabble

I must admit I don't have my hopes set high for this one, as I simply don't know how the spontaneous narrative structure of the novel will translate to film. I don't know if I want it to in fact. I am referring to the screen version of Jack Kerouac's defining novel On The Road. The largely biographical journey of Sal Paradise is now considered a crucial text of the Beat Generation, influencing generations of road-trippers on spiritual booze-fuelled journeys for years to come.

With Walter Salles (of "The Motorcycle Diaries" fame) at the directorial helm, Francis Ford Coppolla controlling production and a young and promising cast including Brit talent Sam Riley as Sal Paradise: in theory it should work.

I remain unconvinced.

Bob Dylan once said of the novel: "It changed my life like it changed everyone else's." Wonder what he'll make of the film...

(On The Road is due for release in 2011)



Novels that translated well to film:

• LA Confidential by James Ellroy
• American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
• The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Lost in Translation:

• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (awright Peter you like CGI, we get it! not always appropriate though eh?)
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (time and time again they've been more horrific than any monster)
• The Human Stain by Philip Roth (Anthony Hopkins as a black American...nuff said)