Beat

Rating:
Summary: About 45 minutes to short..
Review: "BEAT" has a below average running time at 1h & 20m, however it manages to work out on a few levels. The performances are top-notch and I would like to strike one comment from the record. In one of the reviews below someone said "Courtney Love plays herself once again." Love is a terrific actress and over all entertainer. How can anyone say she plays herself over and over, as if they know her personally. The film also stars Kiefer Sutherland, it's based on a true story in which it's characters seemed to be sexually free yet trapped as individuals. I just wish the movie would have had more development.

Rating:
Summary: Good, not the best, but good.
Review: I have to admit I am huge Courtney Love fan. I have really enjoyed her in 200 cigarettes and The people vs Larry Flint where she proved to everyone that she can indeed act. I have to admit that I am not very familiar with the whole beat generation,but I have read the works of Burroughs, Ginsberg, and Keurorac. I didn't find out about this movie untill recently, andu assumed that Courntey as Mr. Burroughs wife, would be a minial role. To my suprise she is pretty much a central character of the movie. I feel that the movie had some wonderful cinematography, but the acting was a little bit low keyed for all those involved. Still for any enthusiasts of Courtney Love its a must. She played her part well and I am afraid that the subtly in her characters experession through out the film may have either been intentional or chalked up to poor directing. In any case the film is definitely worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: Can't live up to the characters
Review: I rented this film with high hopes as I am a fan of William S. Burroughs and to a lesser extent Allen Ginsberg. Unfortunately, however, it didn't take long for this film to disappoint me. Coming in at 80 minutes I felt that the plot (the time period building up to WS Burroughs' "accidental" shooting of his wife Joan Vollmer) never got a chance to develop and thus the characters were nearly impossible to identify with, much less have sympathy for. At the end I was just happy that it was over and couldn't help but laugh at Jane's supposedly haunting Conradesque last words. The score was also very annoying as it droned on in heroic intonations-reminiscent of the beautiful and fitting music in the Shawshank Redemption-only in this film there is no redemption, tragedy or depth at all. Perhaps, it could have been better if the director would have had more time to develop the plot and the characters-it seems that he expects that the viewer will already know all the details. Keifer Sutherland does a nice job capturing Burroughs' voice and mannerism, but is undone by poor performance by Courtney Love, who seems to be playing herself-once again-instead of Vollmer. I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone, but the most dedicated Burroughs' fan and even then just for the curiosity.

Rating:
Summary: snapshot bore-etics
Review: Not a good movie, even for Beat enthusiasts. First off, Keifer Sutherland is about forty pounds too heavy to play Burroughs (Bill was a junky, Keifer, not a slob; but I suppose you thought this would be a "risky" role because you had to kiss a man). And what is with Keifer channeling W.C. Fields? Courtney Love phones in her performance--not that she had the best dialogue in the world to work with. The only actor who actually shines is Ron Livingston as Ginsberg. He nailed Ginsberg's shy/outsider routine circa 1952.

It would be a waste of time to correct all the false assumptions made by the writer/director. But I will take the time for just one: Nobody liked David Kammerer and pretty much everyone was happy that Lucien killed him.

As for the movie itself, it's just plain boring. The potential for a dramatic story is there, but left unexplored. There's is absolutely no reason to care about these people--unless you go into the movie already knowing the details about these people's lives. If you fit this description, then you've read the actual story as told by the Beats themselves. Definitely the better option.

Rating:
Summary: Classic cinema, essential Beat story
Review: This film could have been subtitled 'The story of Joan Vollmer', as it is based around her last months before William S Burroughs - her husband - shot her.
Courtney Love does much to glamorise a pretty much unknown beat legend character, and provides a languorous air as she floats between scenes as the estranged Mrs Burroughs.

However, for me, the story veers too much from the truth to order to create a mainstream product. This is a pity when you are dealing with real lives and real literary history.
The disintegrating, complex relationship between the married couple would have sufficed for an interesting enough story for a Beat fan, but may not have provided much 'spice' for the public.
In this version of events, Joan's use of benzedrine (speed) is played down and her rampant addiction and resulting degeneration is never explored, this could be because of the intended general american audience.
I'm not too sure of the whole Lucien affair thing either...

At the closing credits, you're left with a feeling that perhaps Joan Vollmer may have emerged alongide the greats of the beat movement had she not been killed.
In fact, she may not have lasted much longer on her own as alcoholism, the effects of her addiction, drinking and a long-standing illness began to overtake her.(...) pretty much covers it.

One final note for Burroughs fans looking to buy - all the actors do a great job of each character, Keifer Sutherland puts some effort in with the mannerisms and delivery (+ a spot-on wardrobe) in the crucial role.

Rating:
Summary: somewhat witty dialogue at times
Review: This is admittedly a dog of a movie. All of the cast in it have proven themselves in other films, but this one misses the mark. The only thing that's remotely interesting is the ending, and it's not something that anyone would write home to mom about. There is a bit of clever dialogue in the movie as well, mostly coming from Courtney Love's character, but in general this is not really worth your time or money (though it DID have a plot and it DID follow the plot, which is more than can be said for about 90% of the Action movies out in the market today, which is ALSO why it got 2 stars instead of 1).

I can't even think of a comparable film that would be better to recommend, as it's not really comparable to much... I'd just steer clear of this film unless you're an extremely huge Beat Generation fan, and even then, I'd be wary.

Rating:
Summary: somewhat witty dialogue at times
Review: This is admittedly a dog of a movie. All of the cast in it have proven themselves in other films, but this one misses the mark. The only thing that's remotely interesting is the ending, and it's not something that anyone would write home to mom about. There is a bit of clever dialogue in the movie as well, mostly coming from Courtney Love's character, but in general this is not really worth your time or money (though it DID have a plot and it DID follow the plot, which is more than can be said for about 90% of the Action movies out in the market today, which is ALSO why it got 2 stars instead of 1).

I can't even think of a comparable film that would be better to recommend, as it's not really comparable to much... I'd just steer clear of this film unless you're an extremely huge Beat Generation fan, and even then, I'd be wary.

Rating:
Summary: Burroughs Fans Only
Review: This movie was obviously made for William Burroughs/Beatnik fans only! Slow moving with a lot of dialogue, although interesting to see a glimpse into everyday life of Burroughs/Ginsberg and others. A "must see" for fans; A "hard to get through" for non-fans.

Rating:
Summary: Burroughs Fans Only
Review: This movie was obviously made for William Burroughs/Beatnik fans only! Slow moving with a lot of dialogue, although interesting to see a glimpse into everyday life of Burroughs/Ginsberg and others. A "must see" for fans; A "hard to get through" for non-fans.