Howl is a docudrama named after the 1956 counterculture poem by Allen Ginsberg, of the same name. Written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, it was released on January 21, 2010. It stars James Franco in the role of the poet Allen Ginsberg.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049402/

Nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival and for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival,http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049402/awards it has been acclaimed for its multifaceted presentation of the dawn of the counterculture movement.

Originally contemplated to be a documentary, the film was changed to a dramatization based on real events. In so doing, the film maintains a visual look contemporary to the era which it portrays, the 1950s, using both color and black and white cinematography.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049402/

Cast in the lead role of Allen Ginsberg, actor James Franco of General Hospital fame, makes his return to the big screen since his role in the 2008 film, Milk. The role of Jake Ehrlich is played by actor Jon Hamm, better known for his role as Don Draper in the AMC series, Mad Men.

Howl is set primarily in 1957 San Francisco. The story line is divided into three interwoven subplot lines, all of which revolve around and climax through the Allen Ginsberg obscenity trial for his poem, Howl.

One of the subplot lines follows a young Ginsberg through his early years and the source for his inspiration to become a poet and diarist. The second subplot line is a reflection of society's reaction to Ginsberg in terms of the trial itself. The third subplot line uses a collection of animated sequences to attempt to capture and resonate the essence of the counterculture and beatnik movement solidified by the Ginsberg poem, Howl.

• James Franco - Allen Ginsberg

• Jon Hanin - Jake Ehrlich

• Jeff Daniels - David Kirk

• Mary-Louise Parker - Gail Potter

• David Strathairn - Ralph McIntosh

• Jon Prescott - Neal Cassady