Cinematography:
Edward LachmanComposer:
Carter BurwellCast:
James Franco, Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels, David Strathairn, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alessandro Nivola, Bob Balaban, Cecilia Foss, Aaron Tveit (more)Plots(1)
Rob Epstein directs this drama based on the obscenity trial faced by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg following the publication of his poem 'Howl'. Set in 1950s San Francisco, the film stars James Franco as the young Ginsberg, who becomes a lynchpin of the Beat generation, alongside the likes of Jack Kerouac (Todd Rotondi) and Neal Cassady (Jon Prescott). Psychedelic animation sequences illustrating the poem are interspersed with courtroom scenes in which Jake Ehlrich and Ralph McIntosh play the opposing lawyers battling over the slippery question of whether or not the poem has sufficient literary merit to redeem its profane content. (Soda Pictures)
(more)Cast
![James Franco](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/058/162058147_7f5074.png)
James Franco
USA
Best movies:
Of Mice and Men (2015) (theatrical recording)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
An American Crime (2007)
![Jon Hamm](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/650/160650044_b15221.jpg)
Jon Hamm
USA
Best movies:
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Richard Jewell (2019)
The Town (2010)
![Jeff Daniels](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/446/159446116_e73d5b.jpg)
Jeff Daniels
USA
Best movies:
Godless (2017) (series)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
The Martian (2015)
![David Strathairn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/267/267817_d1e782.jpg)
David Strathairn
USA
Best movies:
L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Temple Grandin (2010) (TV movie)
![Mary-Louise Parker](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/824/161824760_2f6697.jpg)
Mary-Louise Parker
USA
Best movies:
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999) (TV movie)
![Treat Williams](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/778/163778967_29f713.jpg)
Treat Williams
USA
Best movies:
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Hair (1979)
![Alessandro Nivola](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/361/162361510_b47bb5.jpg)
Alessandro Nivola
USA
Best movies:
The Company (2007) (series)
Face Off (1997)
Goal! (2005)
![Bob Balaban](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/886/163886862_f63e91.jpg)
Bob Balaban
USA
Best movies:
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Cecilia Foss
Norway
![Aaron Tveit](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/180/163180189_cc4833.jpg)
Aaron Tveit
USA
Best movies:
Les Misérables (2012)
Howl (2010)
Premium Rush (2012)
Jon Prescott
USA
Best movies:
The Holiday (2006)
Howl (2010)
Maladies (2012)
Todd Rotondi (a.f.)
USA
Best movies:
Howl (2010) - a.f.
Phil Newsom
Best movies:
Howl (2010)
Taking Chance (2009) (TV movie)
Joe Toronto
USA
Best movies:
Howl (2010)