74
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasA remarkably rich documentary possessing depth, range, insight and compassion.
- 83The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe artist's arresting images speak for themselves, even though now only the bystanders are left to tell his story.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeA thoroughly engaging film about an inimitable New York painter.
- 80Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe man himself stares into Davis's lens, both confident and scared; for these moments alone, the movie is key.
- 80The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenIt places Basquiat's art in a cultural context with an enthusiasm and zest that make the many pictures shown come blazingly alive.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoTalking heads include friends, fellow artists, art dealers and former girlfriends. One contributor is Julian Schnabel, the painter and filmmaker who directed the 1996 biopic "Basquiat."
- 70Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonHer (Davis) homage--tender, never hagiographic--also contains some biting analysis of the racism, both overt and insidious, that the artist was up against.
- 70Boxoffice MagazineRay GreeneBoxoffice MagazineRay GreeneUsing clips from home movies, newsreels and public access TV, Davis does a heroic job of bringing the edgy and diffuse mixed-media New York art scene of the '80s back to life.
- 70Chicago ReaderFred CamperChicago ReaderFred CamperIn the interview, a charmingly self-effacing Basquiat displays a winning smile; perhaps no one could explain what drove him, or his 1988 death from a heroin overdose at 27, but we do learn of his alienation from his family.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanIt doesn't dip much below the surface, but Tamra Davis' biography of her friend Jean-Michel Basquiat, who died in 1988, offers an informative introduction to one of contemporary art's most complex figures.