MYST #5: Howl

This weekend I watched the movie Howl directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. I had seen it a few months ago thought it looked interesting, but then I forgot about it. So, this weekend when I was looking for something to watch, I came across it again and there you have it.

This movie is about the poet Allen Ginsberg and his literary work Howl. Ginsberg is played by James Franco. There are many other well-known actors in the movie in supporting roles - such as John Hamm and Bob Balaban- but no one is as big of a role as Franco. The film moves through 3 main sequences. The first is Ginsberg telling the story of his life leading up to when the writing of the poem took place. Within that, we see the stories being acted out. For example, as Ginsberg is telling the story of him and his friend spending time together one day, we see that scene as it is narrated. Another sequence is a cartoon depiction of the poem as it is read by Franco. The last sequence is a trial. The poem was controversial because it and was actually put on trial because of obscenity pertaining to illicit drugs and sexual references.

Franco did a really good job playing his role. I had never seen him in a role like this before (previously I had seen him in the Spider-Man films he did with Tobey Maguire and Flyboys to name a few). I always think of him as more of a comedy actor, but this was not that. I don't know what Ginsberg was like, but it seemed as though Franco really got into character and Ginsberg was anything like Franco portrayed, then he did a great job. I was surprised at some of the other actors that popped up in this movie. I was not expecting any of them. To start, Jon Hamm played the defense attorney. I have only ever seen him in Bridesmaids, but I know he has been very successful recently with his role in the TV series Mad Men. In Howl, I do give him praise for the performance he gave. Bob Balaban from the Grand Budapest Hotel, the Monument Men, Moonrise Kingdom, etc. played the judge at the trial. I thought he, too, gave a good performance in his role.

One of the best cinematic elements that was in this movie was the cartoon depiction of the poem as Franco narrated it. I thought is was a very cool element and a different from what I was expecting. It also was not just a boring cartoon, but rather very detailed with color and how the pictures moved. A lot of times, those parts made me think of Tim Burton films in how they looked. Another thing was the use of color versus black and white while Ginsberg was recalling his life moments, which is pretty typical in many films. For example, in one scene, he is talking about one of his friends and their relationship. As it shows him sitting in the chair telling the story, it's all in color, but when it shows the flashback, it's black and white.

There is one thing that I wanted to point out about this movie, It is small and may be a bit nit picky. When Franco is reading the poem, the voice he uses is very odd. He places emphasis in weird places, and it was a little annoying. It also was different then how he spoke for Ginsberg in the interview, so I thought it was a little interesting.

When it comes to the rating for this movie, it is a little difficult. I say that because I think to really enjoy this movie, you have to have a great understanding of poetry and Ginsberg, which I didn't. With that being said, I couldn't appreciate this movie as I think it is supposed to be. From my point of view, I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.