Review of Basquiat (1996) by Mjs M — 22 Sep 2008

I was interested in this movie solely because it was directed by Julian Schnabel, director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The movie is about Jean-Michel Basquiat, a 19 year old Haitian man who went from being a homeless graffiti artist on the streets of New York to being a world renowned abstract painter in a very short time span.

This is clearly a very personal movie to Schnabel, who is himself a successful painter in the New York art scene, in fact he knew Basquiat personally. The film has a real murderer?s row of character actors in it: a young Jeffery Wright plays Basquiat, David Bowie plays Andy Warhol, and the film also features Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Benicio del Toro, and Christopher Walken.

I can?t say I really got much out of Basquiat?s art, although I began to understand it a little better as the movie progressed. I really like the way Schnabel filmed Basquiat while he was actually painting, and the movies soundtrack selections.

Ultimately it is mostly a formulaic biopic, but it?s done with style and Jeffery Wright?s performance is worth watching.