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Beat (2000) -- The story of writer William Seward Burroughs and his wife.

Overview

User Rating:
5.4/10   687 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Gary Walkow
Writer:
Gary Walkow (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Beat on IMDbPro.
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Sex and Drugs before Rock and Roll
Plot:
The story of writer William Seward Burroughs and his wife. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
Hey daddio more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Courtney Love ... Joan Vollmer Burroughs

Kiefer Sutherland ... William S. Burroughs

Lisa Sheridan ... Sadie
Patricia Llaca ... Mary (as Patricia De Llaca)
Steve Hedden ... Pharmacist

Ron Livingston ... Allen Ginsberg

Norman Reedus ... Lucien Carr
Daniel Martínez ... Jack Kerouac
Kyle Secor ... Dave Kammerer
Pedro Gonzalez ... Knife Sharpener
Georgiana Sîrbu ... Julie
Rene Rubio ... Bill Jr.

Sam Trammell ... Lee

Alec Von Bargen ... Heard

Tommy Perna ... Dwight
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and elements of sex, drugs and violence.
Runtime:
93 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Certification:
Australia:M | USA:R | Iceland:12

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Lee: If you love your wife so much, why are you here with me?
William S. Burroughs: Love is not sex.
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Movie Connections:
Version of Naked Lunch (1991) more

FAQ

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful:-
Hey daddio, 1 June 2001
Author: PaulLondon from United Kingdom

Although not a patch on Cronenberg's wild and fabulous "Naked Lunch" this is a pretty solid look at the year prior to Joan Burroughs death (an incident which was also the catalyst for Naked Lunch") Certainly, this is preferable to the boring "The Last Time I Committed Suicide". The director/writer mostly avoids the clichés of the "hey your so square daddio" type to concentrate on the less celebrated 'minor character' of Joan Burroughs as played by Courtney Love. Love captures dichotomy of being a strong woman trapped in a man's world well and there is a beautifully haunted quality to her performance as she goes from good time beat girl to wife of drug addicted Burroughs. keifer Sutherland as Burroughs is not great casting though; he does a good imitation of the voice but doesn't project the same charisma as Peter Weller did in the same role. And this could be the films failing- why is Joan attracted to him? The film shows none of the genius of the man nor any reason why she would tolerate his coldness, his gayness and his drug abuse whilst she is left at home with the kids and thoughts of a love affair that could have been. Still a fairly enjoyable, if minor film

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
scratch a bohemian and you get a boy scout danelle_cran2000
Great movie! brianhasbigears
One of my favorites! gdzac
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