Basquiat (1996)
Starring: Jeffrey Wright, David Bowie
Director: Julian Schnabel
Reel Snapshot: Stylish, enigmatic biopic about street artist Jean Basquiat. May disappoint fans of in-depth character portraits, but this is of interest to art-house fans seeking riveting look at 1980s N.Y. art scene.

Runtime: 108 minutes
Rating: R
Genre: Drama

RaM's Review: I think this is one of my faves - I love it! If you'd like to see what it's like for a struggling artist, what it takes to stay successful or maybe even sell yourself out, this is a heartfelt one and I highly recommend it. A few of my favorite scenes: Basquiat walking around in Titanic clogs (his boat is sinking!), Bowie as Warhol (nearly every scene he is in has me in stitches) is an excellent "piss artist" or should I say "take the piss artist". The movie covers a range of emotions - you will laugh, you will cry, you will dream! and it's an excellent depiction of this artist's life. I think it is visually great too - gives you the flavour of what NYC is like at the time. I have to wonder if the real Basquiat ever made it to that Irish pub, I hope he did!

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