Kill Your Darlings (2013)

Mr. Krokidas deftly shows how the ambition to write is entangled with other impulses.

It transcends the usual biopic limitations to tell a specific story about some well-known people with larger, universal implications.

Though it begins as a murder-mystery, Kill Your Darlings may be best described as an intellectual moral maze, a story perfectly of its time and yet one that still resonates today.

Directed with an assured sense of style that pushes against the narrow confines of its admittedly fascinating story, John Krokidas’ first feature feels adventurous yet somewhat hemmed-in.

There’s a limber, freewheeling aspect to the storytelling that echoes the rule-breaking literary form of the Beat writers.