65
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversMost movies stress the agony of art (think of Kirk Douglas' Van Gogh in "Lust for Life"). Schnabel's exceptional film honors his friend by showing the act of creation as a natural high.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe New York art world quickly makes Basquiat a star. His work is good (when you see it in the movie, you can feel why people liked it so much), but his story is better: from a cardboard box to a gallery opening!
- 80SalonSalonFor a first feature, this surprisingly likeable film might just revitalize Schnabel's persona in art circles, as well as make a splash with hip young filmgoers.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannIt's smart and good-hearted and boasts an amazingly good score, but the film is limited by the very private nature of the man it portrays.
- 70Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonBut the film, written and directed by fellow artist Julian Schnabel, is so tender in its affections, these omissions and poetic licenses seem like the embellishments of a good friend.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliAccording to Schnabel, the movie is intended to celebrate the man's life, not to mourn his death, so Basquiat's last days are not shown. It's one of many miscalculations made by the director, because, when the end credits roll, we're left without a sense of closure.
- 60The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinBut the film's central figure remains a cipher, the subject of a colorful scrapbook rather than a revealing portrait.
- 50Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonDespite the movie's suffocating sense of chic Soho hipness, it touches on all the square cliches about the tragic life of the misunderstood artist.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenDespite its inadequacies, Basquiat presents a fascinating glimpse of the Eighties art scene, due in large measure to several stunning performances.
- 25San Francisco ExaminerSan Francisco ExaminerSchnabel can't decide whether he wants to tell a traditional rise-and-fall morality tale or make an art film. His attempt at telling Basquiat's story straightforwardly collapses under its own banality.