Basquiat . Tucson Weekly . 11-07-96

Basquiat

DIRECTED BY: Julian Schnabel

REVIEWED: 11-07-96

Jean Michel Basquiat was described by The New York Times as "the art world's closest equivalent to James Dean." Young, talented and good looking, the painter died of a heroin overdose in 1988 at the age of 27. The film Basquiat, made by his friend and fellow art sensation Julian Schnabel, follows Basquiat's rise from a kid sleeping in a box to a rich, indulged superstar, both recipient and victim of the art world's largess in the 1980's. Though the acting is often great in this film (David Bowie does a dead-on impersonation of Andy Warhol), and though the New York art world and Basquiat himself are interesting fodder for a feature film, Basquiat lacks direction and tension, and gets a little slow at times.

--Stacey Richter

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