Basquiat

I have no idea why I watched this film before I watched The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, because that was the movie that was recommended to me, by the same director. I think...that this was the first movie of this director, but I'm not positive.
It was about this black artist, Basquiat. He was homeless, living in a cardboard box, struggling to make it as an artist and to be rich and famous. Him and his friend (Benicio Del Toro) run into Andy Warhol (David Bowie) and his art dealer friend (Dennis Hopper) and Andy is actually quite a fan of his work. He buys a couple cheap pieces and they seperate. Then Basquiat is discovered by someone else, and over time ends up rising to fame in the world of painting. He reunites with Andy Warhol and they become good friends.
Unfortunately, he seems to be being used...used by people high in the business...but as much as I would like to feel sorry for him, I really don't. He kinda becomes an asshole to his old friend and the first person to recognize his art. He cheats on his girlfriend and then Warhol dies...and he discovers that that's really all he had left.
Andy was kinda the only one left in the art world that recognized him, and without him, he was nothing...with no friends or family left either.
Speaking of family...probably mt biggest complaint about this movie was the portrayal of Basquiat's relationship with his family. We learn that his family is actually middle class, so why does he live in a cardboard box. We are introduced to his father once but get no real insight to what their relationship might be (although I think we are meant ro assume that it's only after his rise ro fame that his father became re-interested in him). And we also learn that hismother is in a mental institution yet we have no idea why or how this affects him.
In that sense, the movie felt a little incomplete...and I also think that if I had previous knowledge of the artist or his work I may have appreciated it more.
On a positive note, the soundtrack and cast was AMAZING. For the cast we had David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Benicio Del Toro, Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Walken etc. It was really great...all these cameos left me and my friends going "woahh! That's _____" every other scene
With the soundtrack we had multiple songs by The Pogues, The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, Public Image Ltd., a little Iggy Pop and David Bowie..it was great too (:

6.7/10