Sometimes we sacrifice small things, for the sake of the greater good. I took this into consideration while watching a film called Basquiat (1996) recently. The film is directed by Julian Schnabel, a famous artist in his own right. If you've seen Schnabel's art work, it has rather an angular, expressionistic slant, with a Pollock Picasso mix and feel.
Schnabel has directed 3 films thus far, the later being Before Night Falls, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I've been impressed, and curiously got to digging around the internet, wondering what other Schnabel stones are left unturned. Through this, Basquiat found it's way into my little home.
The cast was enough to convince a girl - Benicio Del Toro, David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, and Courtney Love. Talk about condensed... with that much charisma and skill in one flick, you'll get your money's worth. Jeffery Wright plays the lead character of Jean-Michel Basquiat. His skin is quirky, mood is introverted and slightly twitchy. Believable. Has an artist's affect down pat.
Art films can lean towards tedious, exercises in form over substance. If you've ever ventured a gallery show, or foreign film, maybe dabbled in cultural experiments out of curiosity or sheer boredom with your own predictable life... Sometimes the experiments work.
My favorite thing about this flick is the Wright's portrayal of Basquiat. Spending time with an artist, can cause us normal types deep awe and frustration. I'm reminded of Ed Harris as Pollock. You can see, feel the greatness in this person. Their social awkwardness and borderline autism make sense, because they see things we can't. Seems the price paid many times for walking the edge of sanity. You have to be this close to falling off the edge, to bring forth those voices. Tori Amos has said each song she writes, has it's own identity, outside of her. She's just the channel giving it wings.
I'd recommend this film on a few levels. There's alot of great acting. David Bowie as Worhol is spot on. You also get the feel we're viewing this high art world from someone who knows it intimately (Schnabel), and feels a sense of repulsion and attraction to it. Money and fame, yet shallow and utterly ridiculous in the same breath.
Not a touchy feely film, or one that you'll understand half the time. Sometimes the point is feeling discomfort, or not knowing. I'm glad we got acquainted, this Basquait film and I. Not a place I'd live, but definitely a place I'd visit.
