Basquiat

Many great actors have portrayed artist Andy Warhol in film. Everybody from Jared Harris to Bill Hader has taken on the iconic visionary. I think Crispin Glover's performance in The Doors is my favorite, but David Bowie's turn in 1996's Basquiat is a very close second.

It's not a movie about Warhol, but one of his discoveries, street artist Jean Michael Basquiat, Jeffrey Wright. Impressed with his art and vision, Warhol takes Basquiat under his wing and becomes his mentor. Basquiat becomes the toast of the town. He's well on his way to reaching a legendary status like Warhol, but drugs and poor decisions get in the way.

Wright, in his first major role, shines as the troubled artist. He is truly amazing and upstages a very impressive supporting cast that includes Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Benicio Del Toro, Courtney Love, Parker Posey, Michael Wincott, Tatum O'Neal, and Claire Forlani. That's not to say that everybody involved isn't terrific, it's just that it's Wright's picture. Bowie, who was a close, personal friend to Warhol, is great and comes closest to stealing the spotlight.

Writer/director Julian Schnabel does a terrific job with the source material, probably because he too was an artist on the scene around the same time. Oldman's character is even loosely based on him.

Definately one of the best pictures ever made about a tortured artist.

It's available on dvd and is streaming on Netflix.