

The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.
Acting
Jeffrey Wright's star-making, barely-contained hurricane of a performance.
Direction
Schnabel actually knew these people and it shows in every frame.
Costume
Armani suits over paint-splattered everything. Peak 80s excess.

Director
Julian Schnabel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Julian Schnabel was already a famous neo-expressionist painter when he directed this—he literally painted on the film itself for certain transitions.
The real Rene Ricard, played by Michael Wincott, was the critic who first named Basquiat 'the Radiant Child'—a phrase that became the title of the definitive documentary about him.