I'm a sucker for movies set in New York City, which is one reason I decided to see this, that and the supporting cast. I don't know much about Basquiat, his life or work, so I don't know how accurate the movie is, nor do I know much about art, but this film drew me in. I know the film was made by a friend and compatriot of Basquiat, Julian Schnabel, and if there's a weakness, it's that sometimes we feel this is an inside job. Nevertheless, we do go inside the art world, get to know about graffiti, and we get to understand what makes Basquiat tick. I also thought Jeffrey Wright was good in the title role. The supporting cast were all first-rate as well.

It's 1979 New York. Jean Michel Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright) is an unconventional artist who lives in the park. He likes waitress Gina Cardinale (Claire Forlani). He crashes with his friend Benny Dalmau (Benicio Del Toro). He assists an electrician (Willem Dafoe) at a gallery run by Albert Milo (Gary Oldman) and Mary Boone (Parker Posey). He sees Bruno Bischofberger (Dennis Hopper) and Andy Warhol (David Bowie) having lunch and sells some of his art to Warhol. Rene Ricard (Michael Wincott) takes an interesting in his art and starts showing him around. Annina Nosei (Elina Löwensohn) gives him the space to start painting. He goes with Big Pink (Courtney Love) who drives away Gina. He is interviewed by a guy (Christopher Walken).

The way Jeffrey Wright portrays Basquiat is kind of annoying. He seems to have Asperger at times while at other times, he's simply an a-hole. He's definitely a hallucinating druggie. I'm not sure how accurate the character is but it's not a flattering portrayal. Although he's not an overtly bad guy, I simply don't care about him. It is however a very fascinating view of his meteoric rise in the art world. It's a great slice of New York life. It's odd to see these many great actors in cameos. It may be better to have lesser known actors in these lesser roles. It becomes more of a distraction especially when those actors don't come back. For me, the most interesting part is when Walken's character asks questions to Basquiat that makes him squirm. One more thing, I don't like the way that some of the edits fade out to black like it's fading out to a TV commercial break. That's also a bit distracting.

Basquiat tells the story of the meteoric rise of youthful artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Starting out as a street artist, living in Thompkins Square Park in a cardboard box, Jean-Michel is "discovered" by Andy Warhol's art world and becomes a star. But success has a high price, and Basquiat pays with friendship and love.

I can't pretend to understand art. So I can't say I understand what makes one artist valuable or famous and another one nothing. Basquiat is one of those mysteries. What made his art special? I do not know. But his life was interesting, and the way this film challenges race is important. I have wondered why we distinguish "black" things, but not "white" things...

And Andy Warhol. Wow. I don't know a lot about him, but if he was anything like what David Bowie portrayed, he must have been quite strange to be around. No doubt Bowie and Warhol met, so the portrayal is probably correct.