Howl

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Howl

R

2010

1h 24m

Drama

Biography

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Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

107 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Poet and cultural icon Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) is living in San Francisco in the mid '50s with friends and fellow writers Jack Kerouac (Todd Rotondi) and Neal Cassady (Jon Prescott) when he conceives "Howl," a poem that is credited with popularizing the Beat movement. When bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Andrew Rogers) publishes the poem, he is put on trial for obscenity. The film includes animated portions depicting interpretations of the poem itself.

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Critics Consensus

James Franco gives it his all as beat poet Allen Ginsberg, but Howl never develops enough of a focus to do his performance justice.

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Jennie Yabroff

Newsweek

Feb 7, 2018

Great art transcends its creator. In this case, it also lays the foundation for a great film.

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Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

Mar 12, 2011

3/5

It is the trial itself - which Ginsberg did not attend - that is the real payoff here as Howl's defenders and detractors get their day in court.

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Philip French

Guardian

Feb 28, 2011

Sadly, I found it only moderately enjoyable and rather smug, much like an average edition of the BBC's Arena.

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David Sugarman

CineVue

Mar 22, 2021

2/5

Howl basically plays like a decent Sunday-afternoon TV docudrama. It may be considered by some to be art, but I imagine few will consider it to be cinema.

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Jun 10, 2020

Epstein and Friedman utilize fact, fiction and animation tropes to explain how a seven-page poem would launch a counterculture, or what some have labeled an ongoing culture war.

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Felicia Feaster

Charleston City Paper

Jan 22, 2020

But for students of Ginsberg, American history, and the Beats, Howl is probably essential viewing.

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Robert P

@Superbad 2 days ago

Howl is a *3* star Movie!!!

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 12, 2026

The worldwide gross is $1,614,810.00.

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Shioka O

@RT54204327 Jun 3, 2025

I'm not sure if its better to read the book than watching this because the entire movie is just reading of paragraphs in the book.

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Lorenz L

@Lorenz1060 Dec 30, 2024

The format of the film – essentially three interwoven segments, one of them animated – may be too much for some people to follow. Ginsberg’s poem itself may still shock and offend people in 2024. James Franco gives one of the best, most-focused performances of his daring career, but doesn’t attempt to be the main attraction. With gripping and often humorous performances from Jon Hamm, David Strathairn, Bob Balaban, Treat Williams, and – especially – Jeff Daniels, it is truly an ensemble cast, all of them in top form. Filmed in 14 days (think about that!) on a shoestring budget, it is a small miracle that it so perfectly captures the early days of the Beat Generation. Oh - you may want to read the poem first if you haven't already.

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Feb 15, 2021

This is one of my all time favorite films. It's very artsy, inspiring and crudely entertaining at times. Also, this is a must watch if you love poetry or writing <3

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May 18, 2020

I went with 2 stars for this movie, I only seen it once. Idk if I would watch it again the animation throughout the movie was distracting to me throughout the movie. I liked the parts of his private life/poetry readings. The courtroom part was interesting I do believe that a person with little to no interest in poems/poetry the author and his work will really get this movie or hold their interest. The movie though slow and at times boring you can keep interest throughout. I think that James Franco did a good job in this role, it was also interesting to me to learn more about the poem Howl and who the poet himself was, 2 stars.

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Rob Epstein

Director

Jeffrey Friedman

Director

James Franco

Allen Ginsberg

David Strathairn

Ralph McIntosh

Jon Hamm

Jake Ehrlich

Bob Balaban

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Synopsis

Poet and cultural icon Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) is living in San Francisco in the mid '50s with friends and fellow writers Jack Kerouac (Todd Rotondi) and Neal Cassady (Jon Prescott) when he conceives "Howl," a poem that is credited with popularizing the Beat movement. When bookstore owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Andrew Rogers) publishes the poem, he is put on trial for obscenity. The film includes animated portions depicting interpretations of the poem itself.

Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Producer: Elizabeth Redleaf, Christine K. Walker, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Screenwriter: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Distributor: Oscilloscope Pictures
Production Co: Telling Pictures, RabbitBandini Productions
Rating: R (Some Drug Material|Sexual Language|Sexual Images|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $617.3K
Runtime: 1h 24m

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