Casting Oldman as yourself might be an ego-trip for some, but Schnabel
stays true to the title: this is your life, Jean-Michel Basquiat,
America’s only black super-artist. Discovered by an art critic
determined "not to miss the next Van Gogh" (Wincott),
befriended by Warhol (Bowie, in an astonishing performance),
Basquiat is offered as a cautionary tale to the brilliant and
unworldly. It’s fitting that he’s played by dreamily powerful
newcomer Wright, while A-list actors drift on the periphery as his
girlfriend (Parker Posey), a singer (Love as Madonna), a critic
(Kristin Scott Thomas). Can anyone survive their wildest dreams
coming true?
