Broken Tower (The)
- Director: James Franco
- Writer: James Franco; Paul Mariani
- Producer: Caroline Aragon; Nicolás Celis
CGiii Comment
A film as difficult (i.e. inaccessible) as Crane's poetry.
Hart Crane...who?!? Hailed as a poet for poets - i.e. strictly for the pseudos.
The film has no fluidity, the camera-work is giddily erratic, the editing is brutal, the episodic style...unengaging.
Like Howl...Franco reads and drinks too much...Crane comes over as a belligerent drunk...rather than a tortured soul.
This film does absolutely nothing to provoke interest, appreciation or admiration for Crane and/or his work - it does succeed in boring the pants off of everyone who manages to stay awake until the rather anti-climactic end.
A bore. A chore.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
A look at the dreams, unapologetic love of men , manic highs and depressive, death-haunted lows of early 20th century rebellious, self-destructive visionary poet Hart Crane from his early years as the son of a wealthy Cleveland businessman through his sojourns in New York, Cuba and Paris.
Cast & Characters
James Franco as Hart Crane;
Michael Shannon as Emile;
Stacey Miller as Peggy Cowley;
Vince Jolivette;
Betsy Franco as Grace Crane;
Dave Franco as Young Hart Crane;
David Rothstadt as Poetry Reading Attendant;
David Gerson as Drunken cafe attendant;
Sean Patrick Murray as Movie Theater Attendant;
Gary Abrams as Angry Boxing Fan