Typecasting can be both a boon and a burden. When an actor plays a role so masterfully or for so long that they become inexorably linked to it, it not only provides them job security, it cements their legacy in the "biz" and their place in the public consciousness. At the very least, after a beloved TV show airs its final episode or a film series gets revamped, typecast stars can count on residuals and guest spots on The Big Bang Theory to keep them in the lap of upper-middle-class luxury. Plus, they can always do the convention circuit to sign autographs and shake Cheetos dust-encrusted hands with the fans that adore them.

But what if an actor doesn't want to be known for one role, no matter how well they played the part or how profitable it is to run it into the ground? That's not always up to the actor. There are lots of talented actors who've made great efforts to escape the roles that made them famous, but to no avail: Sir Patrick Stewart will always be Sterling in Jeffrey, Sir Sean Connery will always be Zed in Zardoz, Sir Alec Guinness will always be "The Reaper" in Mute Witness and the as-yet-not-knighted Daniel Radcliffe will be forever fleeing the specter of his star-making turn as Arthur Kipps in The Woman in Black; though he makes a valiant attempt to do just that in his latest film, going against type playing a naïve, bespectacled student caught up in a tangled web of mystery, intrigue and murder at his school.

Kill Your Darlings is the feature directorial debut from John Krokidas. The film focuses on the complicated college days of famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe). Ginsberg's writing talents earn him a place at Columbia University, and he has a bright, if a bit controversial, future ahead of him. He gets to wile away his undergrad days in the company of Beat Generation wunderkinds such as Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster). Heck, his best friend is Lucien Carr (Dane Dehaan)! Ginsberg is also a homosexual in an era when it is both dangerous and illegal to be so, and he's in love with the malevolently manipulative Carr, who takes advantage of him to further his own ends. Then there's that issue of Prof. David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), being murdered in Riverside Park.

Great performances abound. Dehaan plays the part of the sociopathic Carr with the same intensity he brought to his breakout roll as the sociopathic Andrew in 2012's Chronicle. Michael C. Hall goes against type, playing a victim after eight seasons playing the titular killer on Dexter, with just a few shades of David on Six Feet Under shining through here. Oh, and as for Daniel Radcliffe?

One thing's for certain: if playing a gay, anti-establishment Beat Generation icon doesn't get him out of Hogwart's, I'm not sure if anything will.

KILL YOUR DARLINGS, 1:45 and 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11, The Grand Cinema, 6060 S. Fawcett, Tacoma, $4.50-$9, 253.593.4474