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Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat

2017

Sara Driver

Documentary

6.3

44

Documentary It explores the pre-fame years of the celebrated artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and '80s shaped his vision.

	Media	Author	Review
		John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter	"A treasure for those interested in Downtown New York's heyday and a demythologized Basquiat (...) [It] does justice to its acknowledged subject, partly by refusing to divorce him from his context."
		Craig D. Lindsey Village Voice	"'Boom' makes Basquiat out to be an on-the-fringe, 'Zelig'-like character"
		Chris Barsanti The Playlist	"Vivid and beautifully meditative (...) The best elements of Driver’s movie illustrate how these artists located the beauty in that ruin"
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"[It] creates an alluring and detailed portrait of how the downtown scene came together"
		Matt Fagerholm rogerebert.com	"[Basquiat] is not the center of attention (...) When it comes to conjuring a sense of place, Driver’s film succeeds spectacularly, though it comes up short in other areas (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Glenn Kenny The New York Times	"In Ms. Driver, the artist finds a kindred spirit, a fellow investigator who pays him proper and enthralling tribute."
		Derek Smith Slant	"'Boom for Real' creates a portrait of the environment that allowed for Basquiat's meteoric rise to fame but offers little in terms of new insights into either his personal or artistic life (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"

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