Kill Your Darlings (15)

Directed by John Krokidas

3 Stars

Kill Your Darlings paints a fascinating picture of the birth of a Beat generation fuelled by drugs, alcohol and murder.

Set in 1944, it shows a young Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) falling for the charismatic Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) at Columbia University. He's pivotal in introducing him to Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S Burroughs (Ben Foster).

Carr suggests Ginsberg turns to writing instead of studying labour law and helps him start a cultural revolution, "The New Vision," with the others.

But the film reveals how the death of Carr's long-time friend and stalker David Kammerer (Michael C Hall) at the former's hands fractures the group, yet they go on to become literary geniuses.

Director-writer John Krokidas's debut feature captures student life and the aspirations and passions of youth perfectly in what is essentially a coming of age story.

Even so, the Beats come across as pretentious, self-serving bores. But Radcliffe (pictured above right) can finally put Harry Potter behind him as he excels as the chain-smoking, drug-taking Ginsberg, who seals the deal with his first gay kiss. DeHaan is simply mesmerising as Carr.

An intriguing film and certainly the most illuminating about this generation of US literary luminaries.

Maria Duarte