Widely speculated to be an elaborate prank by the world's foremost "street" artists, Banksy, this ultimately engaging film examines the line between artistry, con artistry and commerce. The movie plays like a reality TV show with footage shot by Frenchman (although the silliness of his accent makes one wonder) Thierry Guetta interspersed with confessional interviews with the principals including Banksy, well-known since the Obama election Shepard Fairey and Guetta himself. Ultimately, Guetta dominates the story but it is the Banksy interviews which serve as the prime entertainment in the film. Banksy's Geico Gekko accent, Sahara-dry wit ("so I realized Thierry wasn't a documentary filmmaker but just a man with mental problems...and a camera") leave the impression of someone who could fake an entire documentary for fun and profit. However, Guetta may be the puppet master given that he cons Banksy, Fairey and "Space Invader", another Frenchman, into teaching him the trade, rips off their work and ultimately bamboozles the world's art-buying public into forking over several million dollars for crap he created on the fly (to which Banksy deadpans: "I use to encourage everyone I met to create art, I don't do that so much anymore"). Fans of "The Usual Suspects", "Basic Instinct" or just of ambiguity generally will appreciate the film and puzzling over what differentiates art from grift, con from sucker and selling out from keeping it real.
Review of Exit Through the Gift Shop
