Howl (2010 film)

Howl is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The film is a partly fictionalized account of Allen Ginsberg's 1955 poem "Howl," the obscenity trial that followed its publication, and Ginsberg's life as a young poet.

The film weaves together three narrative threads: a courtroom drama depicting the 1957 obscenity trial of "Howl" in San Francisco; an imagining of Ginsberg's early life as a poet in New York City, including his relationships with other Beat Generation figures such as Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, and Peter Orlovsky; and animated sequences visualizing sections of the poem itself.

James Franco stars as Allen Ginsberg. The cast also includes David Strathairn as prosecutor Ralph McIntosh, Jon Hamm as defense attorney Jake Ehrlich, Alessandro Nivola as Luther Nichols, and Treat Williams as Judge Clayton Horn.

The film received mixed reviews upon its release, with critics praising Franco's performance and the film's ambition, but also noting its fragmented structure and uneven pacing. It was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.