Beat is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Gary Walkow, concerning the period of writer William S. Burroughss life that he spent with his wife, the late Joan Vollmer, leading up to her accidental murder in 1951.
The film opens with Vollmer balancing a water tumbler on her head as Burroughs, her husband, aims a gun at her as she entices him to shoot her. The film then cuts to Joan and Burroughs in the months prior in Mexico City, as Burroughs is leaving on a trip to Guatemala to meet his male lover, Lee. Joan, despondent to Williams affair and his disinterest in her, is left to take care of their two children while he goes on his vacation.Various flashbacks from that point on tell the story of the 1944 murder of their mutual friend David Kammerer in New York City, while Joan was a student at Columbia University. David was killed by Lucien Carr Norman Reedus after he made unwanted sexual advances on him. Lucien arrives at William and Joans apartment and confesses to the murder. ........
Source: Wikipedia