Howl
James Franco stars as the young Allen Ginsberg - poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem HOWL. Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, HOWL is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the passionate as a host of unusual witnesses (Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alesssandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban). (Source)
The story of the obscenity trial launched to censor Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," the groundbreaking poem of the Beat Generation in 1957. (Source)
Starring James Franco in a career-defining performance as Allen Ginsberg, 'Howl' is the story of how the young poet's seminal work broke down societal barriers in the face of an infamous public obscenity trial. In his famously confessional style, Ginsberg--poet, counter-culture icon, and chronicler of the Beat Generation--recounts the road trips, love affairs, and search for personal liberation that led to 'Howl', the most timeless work of his career. 'Howl' interweaves three stories: the unfolding of the landmark 1957 obscenity trial; an imaginative animated ride through the prophetic masterpiece; and a unique portrait of a man who found new ways to express himself, and in doing so, changed his own life and galvanized a generation. (Source)
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