Beat
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Beat
Plot
William S. Burroughs' ill-fated performance of his "William Tell act" -- resulting in his wife Joan Vollmer getting a bullet in the brain with a shot glass atop her head -- soon became the stuff of Beat legend. This film, directed by Gary Walkow, traces this doomed romance from its inception to its bloody end. The movie opens in 1944 New York, where Columbia journalism student Vollmer is already living a bohemian life filled with pharmaceuticals and a host of future beatniks, including hunky Jack Kerouac (Daniel Martinez), a young Allen Ginsberg (Ron Livingston), and of course, Burroughs (Kiefer Sutherland). Also frequenting Vollmer's pad is Lucien Carr (Norman Reedus) whom everyone is enamored with, especially Dave Kammerer (Kyle Secor), who winds up dead after trying to jump the object of his affection. Seven years later, Joan and William have married in spite of Burroughs' obvious homosexual predilections. Their domestic bliss is strained when the two have to flee to Mexico City after they get slapped with a drug rap. Ginsberg and Carr, now correspondents for the UPI, visit the couple only to discover that Burroughs split town with his lover-for-hire. Vollmer and the boys decide to go on a road trip that is brimming with heterosexual tension. William eventually returns from his sex-binge suspecting that Joan had a fling with Carr. During that fateful night, Burroughs pulls out a gun that he was going to sell for drug money and performs one of the most spectacularly botched party-tricks in literary history. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, RoviCast
- Courtney Love - Joan Vollmer
- Norman Reedus - Lucien Carr
- Ron Livingston - Allen Ginsberg
- Kiefer Sutherland - William S. Burroughs
Credit
Heidi Levitt - Casting, Monika Mikkelsen - Casting, Heidi Levitt - Co-producer, Gary Walkow - Director, Peter B. Ellis - Editor, Avi Lerner - Executive Producer, Danny Dimbort - Executive Producer, Trevor Short - Executive Producer, Willi Baer - Executive Producer, Michael Beugg - Executive Producer, Ernest Troost - Composer (Music Score), Rando Schmook - Production Designer, Andrew D.T. Pfeffer - Producer, Alain Silver - Producer, Donald Zuckerman - Producer, Gary Walkow - Screenwriter, Brian Smith - ADR Mixer| Beat (1998 Film), Beasts of the Southern Wild (2011 Film) | |
| Beat Beat Beat: Eric Burdon and the New Animals (Film), Beat Beat Beat: Small Faces (2008 Film) |
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Beat (2000 film)
| Beat | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Gary Walkow |
| Produced by | Andrew Pfeffer Alain Silver Donald Zuckerman |
| Written by | Gary Walkow |
| Starring | Courtney Love Kiefer Sutherland Ron Livingston Norman Reedus |
| Music by | Ernest Troost |
| Cinematography | Ciro Cabello |
| Editing by | Craig Devilliers Peter B. Ellis Steve Vance Gary Walkow |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | January 29, 2000 (Sundance) |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Beat is 2000 drama film written and directed by Gary Walkow, concerning the period of writer William S. Burroughs's life that he spent with his wife, the late Joan Vollmer, leading up to her accidental murder in 1951.
The film stars Kiefer Sutherland as Burroughs, Courtney Love as Joan, Norman Reedus as Lucien Carr, and Ron Livingston as Allen Ginsberg. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2000.
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Contents
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Plot
The film opens with Vollmer balancing a water tumbler on her head as Burroughs, her husband, aims a gun at her as she entices him to shoot her. The film then cuts to Joan and Burroughs in the months prior in Mexico City, as Burroughs is leaving on a trip to Guatemala to meet his male lover, Lee. Joan, despondent to William's affair and his disinterest in her, is left to take care of their two children while he goes on his vacation.
Various flashbacks from that point on tell the story of the 1944 murder of their mutual friend Dave Kammerer in New York City, while Joan was a student at Columbia University. Dave was killed by Lucien Carr (Norman Reedus) after he made unwanted sexual advances on him. Lucien arrives at William and Joan's apartment and confesses to the murder.
The story cuts back to Mexico City in 1951, and Joan goes on a vacation in the country with Lucien and his friend, Ginsberg, while William is in Guatemala with Lee. On their trip, Lucien, who has recently been released from prison for the murder of Dave, attempts to romance Joan but she dismisses his advances. Meanwhile, William unsuccessful tries to pursue Lee while the two are in Guatemala.
William returns home to Joan, frustrated by Lee's dwindling lack of sexual and romantic interest him, and falls into a depression. Joan asks him to return to New York City with her, but he refuses due to his pending charge for heroin possession in the United States.
At the end of the film, William accidentally shoots Joan in the head while at their friends' apartment after the two had been drinking. The film ends with Lucien receiving the news of her death in a telegram.
Cast
- Courtney Love as Joan Vollmer
- Kiefer Sutherland as William S. Burroughs
- Ron Livingston as Allen Ginsberg
- Norman Reedus as Lucien Carr
- Daniel Martinez as Jack Kerouac
- Kyle Secor as Dave Kammerer
- Sam Trammell as Lee
- Alec Von Bargen as Heard
- Tommy Perna as Dwight
References
External links
- Beat at the Internet Movie Database
- Beat at AllRovi
- Beat at Rotten Tomatoes
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