Directed By Julian Schnabel.  Based upon the articles of journalist John Bowe. 
 
  Screen Story developed by Lech Majewski and Michael Holman. Screenplay by Michael Holman


Jeffrey Wright (Jean Michelle Basquiat0

Michael Wincott (Rene Richard)

Benecio Del Toro (Benny Dalmau)

David Bowie (Andy Warhol)

Dennis Hopper (Bruno Bischoffenberger)

Claire Forlani (Gina Cardinale)

Courtney Love (Big Pink)

Parker Posey (Mary Boone)
  
  "Basquiat" is another in a long line of shallow and or unsatisfying bio pics served up by Hollywood. If you wanna get the lowdown on NYC artist Jean Michelle Basquiat you'd probably be best served by hunting down the series of articles written about Basquiat by journalist John Bowe. One problem with the film version of Jean Michelle Basquiat's life is Michael Holman's screenplay. It's basically a pastiche of events cobbled together from John Bowe's subsequent articles on Jean Michelle Basquiat. The problem with the pastiche approach is that we never get a true sense of who Jean Michelle Basquiat was and what ultimately led him to overdose on drugs at age twenty seven. Director Julian Schnabel doesn't help matters by shooting the screenplay as if he's trying to give us quick cliff notes on his subject; in this case, Basquiat. I'll give you an example of what I mean. Look at the portion of the film that centers around Jean Michelle (Jeffrey Wright) and his one time patron, Rene Richard (Michael Wincott). The relationship between them goes from cordial to acrimonious in the span of only a few scenes. We see Rene championing Basquiat's art and then Rene exits the scene a short time later after Basquiat betrays him. The best bio pics are the ones that provide the audience with enough sub text in which they can get an idea of what exactly the featured subject is all about. It's like my writing teacher used to say.... show, don't tell. In the case of "Basquiat" director Julian Schnabel does alot more telling than showing. 

  Let me just make this point and then I'll ease into the plot synopsis. If you've read Roger Ebert's reviews you're familiar with the term "screenplay checklist." To paraphrase Mister Ebert, the "screenplay checklist" is when a screenwriter assembles tried and true and oh so familiar plot points and then executes them in perfect order for the sake of overall plot advancement. Unfortunately Michael Holman's screenplay fits this mold oh to well. First love, doomed by excess and success? Check. Ego run amok, alienation of friends who knew Basquiat when? Check. Diatribes about success, weeding out of true pals from the false ones before a pivotal epiphany? Check. 
 
  Plot: "Basquiat" tells the story of underground street/graffiti artist Jean Michelle Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright.)  Basquiat's life was cut tragically short by a drug overdose at the age of twenty seven. The film chronicles Basquiat's humble beginnings in NYC, honing his talents by using walls and just about everything else as a canvas of some sort. The first woman in Jean Michelle's life is Gina Cardinale (Claire Forlani.) She is by Basquiat's side when he makes good in the art world but the relationship ultimately sours when both success and Jean Michelle's wandering eye come between them. It is at this point that Basquiat catches the eye of a patron named Rene Richard (Michael Wincott.) Like his relationship with Gina, Basquiat's working relationship with Rene soon sours when he ends up putting his own ambition ahead of his relationship with Rene. It is at this point that the young Basquiat falls in with the eclectic Andy Warhol (David Bowie) and his money man, Bruno Bischoffenberger (Dennis Hopper.) Hearing the whispers that Warhol might not have his best interests at heart, Basquiat's paranoia begins to heighten as does his drug use. I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own. 
 
  I hate to keep harping on Michael Holman's screenplay but there's a moment in "Basquiat" that is a prime example of what I was talking about before; the screenplay checklist. Jean Michelle is sitting in an upscale NYC eatery when three business types start to mock him because he's an African American. To me this moment feels like it was simply thrown into the mix for the sake of the plot. In my view a screenwriter shouldn't introduce this kind of a subtext into the proceedings unless the film has expounded on it in some capacity. Otherwise it makes the whole film feel gimmicky and or by the numbers. 
 
  To be fair, I shouldn't lay all of the blame at the feet of screenwriter Michael Holman.  Director Julian Schnabel, a renowned artist in his own right, tends to forget which medium he's working with sometimes. There's a pivotal moment in the film towards the end that Schnabel fills out with a free thought montage of birds and the ocean. A more seasoned director would've let both his camera and his lead actor take this sequence where it needed to go. I say, keep the camera on Jeffrey Wright and go from there. 
 
  Performances: Jeffrey Wright does what he can as Jean Michelle Basquiat but he's fighting an uphill battle here because his role is written in such a one dimensional way. We hear what Basquiat is thinking most of the time but we never get a sense of who he was and what ultimately led him down the path to self destruction. Indeed, director Julian Schnabel seems intent on painting his subject as an oblivious sort with a taste for given substances. Wright does what he can to work past this but in the end Basquiat comes across as nothing more than an exaggerated caricature of a stoner. 
 
  What I said about Jeffrey Wright's performance also rings true in the case of David Bowie's performance. Bowie is serviceable in the role of Andy Warhol but he's also handcuffed by a script that makes his character seem like nothing more than a one dimensional caricature. In my view the best take on Andy Warhol came from Guy Pierce in "Factory Girl." I say that because Pierce played Warhol not only as a space cadet but also as a conniving opportunist who might've been more calculating than people thought. Bowie's performance isn't bad but it's nothing that we haven't seen before. 
 
  Final Thoughts: I don't trust Hollywood when it comes to bio pics and "Basquiat" really didn't do anything to change that fact. Julian Schnabel's "Basquiat" is essentially an art film masquerading as a bio pic. After seeing films like "Gia" and "Auto Focus" practically re-invent the history of their given subjects, I have no doubt that "Basquiat" is also guilty of factual re-invention itself. I would recommend tracking down the interviews that John Bowe conducted with Jean Michelle Basquiat.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age