Retrospective: Basquiat (1996)
Jerry Saravia
draw insight into the main character, and dramatize the life he/she lived in
their own particular time and place. Recent biographies such as "Michael
Collins" dramatized the world the revolutionary lived in but remained aloof in
terms of his personal life and his motivations. "Basquiat" commits some of the
same errors but it is more energetic and vivid a portrait of a lost soul.
The film is based on the true story of Jean-Michel Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright), a
graffiti artist who rose to prominence in the money-grubbing art world of the
80's, and went through a rapid decline through the abuse of drugs and instant
fame. At the beginning of the film, we see Basquiat (who calls himself Samo)
living in a cardboard box in a New York City park. He already is indulging in
heavy drugs, including heroin, but he has dreams of selling and displaying his
graffiti work in an art gallery. One day, he falls for a waitress named Gina
(Claire Forlani) while spreading tomato sauce on a table and making a portrait
of her. Eventually, Basquiat hits it big when a gallery shows his work to great
acclaim, and consequently acquires the interest of several gallery owners,
dealers, poets, pop artists such as Andy Warhol, self-promoters, etc.
Julian Schnabel makes his directorial debut with this film, and he is a
justifiable choice since he was an actual friend of Basquiat's. Schnabel
creates a pointed commentary of the New York art world showing how eager
gallery owners and buyers embraced a new artist and eventually exploited him.
What Schnabel doesn't do as successfully is to capture the man behind the
artist. We see Basquiat as a frequently dazed and confused artist who loves
drugs and seems to love his girlfriend...and that's about it. There are no
glimpses into the artist himself, where his vision emanated from, or what drove
his creativity. Of course, Oliver Stone's "The Doors" remained curiously remote
about a similar artist, Jim Morrison, but that was a more visually dazzling
film of a certain era and we saw how living in those times could push someone
over the edge. "Basquiat" doesn't succeed on the same level: it presents
Basquiat as a man already in the gutter before his rise. In other words,
there's too little of the rise, and too much of the fall. The scenes with
Basquiat and Gina are too temporary to register any sense of loss of love
between them; we see that his drug abuse may have pushed them apart yet every
glimpse of Basquiat is presented in short vignettes with no particular payoffs.
He has one gallery showing after another but there's no sense of accomplishment
- for all we know, Basquiat could just be a junkie wandering around SOHO trying
to impress everyone, including Andy Warhol.
Speaking of Andy, the relationship between Basquiat and Warhol works best, and
it's both melancholy and deeply moving. David Bowie is a real joy to watch as
the dazed Warhol who's consistently murmuring to himself. It's a portrayal on
par with Jared Harris's deadpan interpretation in "I Shot Andy Warhol." I love
the scene where Warhol is painting an Amoco logo and Basquiat paints right over
it causing Warhol to softly murmur "What are you doing? You're painting right
over it?"
"Basquiat" has a slew of actors from what seems to be the Hall of Fame of
Independent Films. There's Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman (very understated),
Parker Posey (as a snooty dealer), Willem Dafoe (as an electrician who gives
the movie's best line about art), Courtney Love, Elina Lowensohn, Christopher
Walken (as a TV journalist), Michael Wincott (as a poet), and Benicio Del Toro
as Basquiat's best friend. These people drift in and out of Basquiat's life
without making much of an impression except for his one true friend, Andy
Warhol.
"Basquiat" is well-made and enjoyable throughout with fine performances,
including the ideally cast Jeffrey Wright in the title role. He brings pathos
and a sadness in his eyes that fitfully captures the artist. "Basquiat" the
film is not a complete portrait, though - it is mostly an assemblage of
exciting brush strokes.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at
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E-mail me with any questions, concerns or general comments at
faustu...@yahoo.com or at Faus...@aol.com
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at
http://buffs.moviething.com/buffs/faust/
E-mail me with any questions, concerns or general comments at
faustu...@yahoo.com or at Faus...@aol.com