BASQUIAT (M).
Director:Julian Schnabel
Stars:Jeffrey Wright, David Bowie, Dennis Hopper,
Gary Oldman, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Wincott,
Elena Lowensohn, Christopher Walken, Courtney Love,
Willem Dafoe, Paul Bartel, Tatum O'Neal, Parker Posey,
Claire Forlani, Michael Badalucco
Running Time:106 minutes.
Most film biographies tracing the lives of famous painters inevitably depict them as flawed geniuses, tormented by their own
personal demons. However, writer/director Julian Schnabel takes a slightly different approach in this intimate and personal biopic
about Jean-Michel Basquiat, a former Haitian immigrant and teenage graffiti artist whose undisciplined talent was fostered by the
legendary Andy Warhol. This self-destructive painter, whose tragically short life was marked with loneliness, disappointment, drugs
and a string of empty relationships, certainly epitomised Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame.
Under the auspices of the flamboyant Warhol, Basquiat became the first black artist to succeed in a white man's world, as he
quickly rose from a squalid and anonymous existence on the streets of New York to the top of the art scene. But he paid the
ultimate price for his precocious talent. Basquiat lived hard and fast, briefly experiencing the heady pleasures of this hedonistic
world, before his untimely death in 1988, from a drug overdose, at the age of 27.
A former artist himself and a colleague of Basquiat, Schnabel knows well the sycophantic world of art galleries, owners, buyers,
painters, and vapid hangers-on, and he incisively portrays this hectic, fickle and incestuous scene with the venom and cynicism of
an insider. This is an impressive debut from Schnabel, who demonstrates an artist's eye for framing his action, painting the details
of Basquiat's life in broad and colourful strokes. His distinctive visual style is complemented by the effective use of music, ranging
from the Rolling Stones to a maudlin but highly appropriate tune from the gravely voiced Tom Waits.
Despite the fact that this is his first feature film, Schnabel has managed to assemble an impressive heavy weight cast to bring to
flesh out the characters in Basquiat's fascinating life. In his biggest and most challenging screen role to date, Tony Award winner
Jeffrey Wright (Angels In America) delivers a moving, complex and eye catching performance as Basquiat, capturing both the
confident swagger, vulnerability and sense of uncertainty of the doomed young artist suddenly thrust into the uncomfortable, harsh
glare of the public spot light. David Bowie is an inspired choice to portray the legendary Andy Warhol, enhancing his remarkable
physical resemblance with a solid performance that generously captures the moods of the man. The superb, heavy weight
supporting cast includes Dennis Hopper in a typically mannered and manic performance as a gallery owner, Gary Oldman, Benicio
Del Toro, Michael Wincott, Hal Hartley regular Elena Lowensohn, Christopher Walken, Courtney Love, Willem Dafoe,
independent director Paul Bartel, and Tatum O'Neal in brief cameos as the many peripheral friends, acquaintances and groupies
who inhabit the art world.
Schnabel strives for realism in his depiction of the world Basquiat inhabited, and has been granted entree into many of the actual
locations. He even gained the support of the Andy Warhol Museum, which adds authenticity to the film's background and settings.
Schnabel has nurtured this project for six years, and, while something of a labour of love, Basquiat does not pretend to be the
definitive biopic on this little known artist, although it does provide some insights into the art world and the enormous pressures
faced by artists. Schnabel offers a poignant treatise on the tragic consequences of fame, fortune and success and, ultimately,
Basquiat is a far more accessible and moving film than the recent, disappointing I Shot Andy Warh