Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat (2018)

For viewers hoping for a detailed narrative of Basquiat’s formative years, artistic philosophy, or even a nuanced portrayal of the man behind the art, Boom for Real is unlikely to satisfy. Driver’s decision to sidestep critical aspects of Basquiat’s identity - his Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage, his complex navigation of systemic oppression, and the societal forces that shaped his creative voice - feels like an oversight. These elements were not peripheral to his work; they were its lifeblood, informing his unfiltered commentary on race, class, and power in 20th century America. By neglecting these foundational aspects, the film misses an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the stylistic urgency behind Basquiat’s art.

The film’s structure exacerbates this lack of depth, moving rapidly between interviews and archival footage without offering a cohesive narrative or thematic throughline. Basquiat himself remains an enigmatic figure, with the documentary relying heavily on anecdotes from contemporaries like Al Diaz and Fab 5 Freddy. Perhaps the most frustrating omission is the absence of any footage of Basquiat speaking. His own voice, insights, and charisma, captured in other films like The Radiant Child (2010), could have anchored the documentary, but its absence underscores the film’s central flaw; its struggle to connect the man to his art and the larger issues it critiqued.

Despite its shortcomings, Boom for Real achieves something remarkable: it vividly captures the essence of a transformative era in New York’s cultural history. Driver’s first-hand knowledge of the downtown art scene infuses the documentary with authenticity and texture. Her portrayal of Basquiat’s emergence within a dynamic ecosystem of punk, hip-hop, and street art is not merely a backdrop but a vital narrative thread. The anarchic energy of this milieu, its openness to experimentation, and its fertile cross-pollination of disciplines are depicted as both a stage and a co-creator of Basquiat’s artistic voice. Driver’s depiction of pre-gentrification New York is evocative and immersive, painting a portrait of a city that was alive with creative possibility. Through archival footage and an evocative new-wave soundtrack, she conjures an environment where cultures spilled onto the streets, and where subway walls were canvases for rebellion and self-expression. The film captures a moment in history when art, music, and culture were inseparable from the physical and social fabric of the city, creating a sense of place that feels almost mythical.

Interviews with contemporaries like Al Diaz and Lee Quiñones reinforce the interconnectedness of this scene. This contextualisation is perhaps the film’s greatest strength, the web of collaboration challenging the myth of the solitary genius, and illustrating how his brilliance was both inspired and nurtured by the community around him. Driver also captures the democratising ethos of the era, where art was not confined to galleries or museums, but was embedded in the everyday, made for and by the people who lived in the city. This context is crucial for understanding Basquiat’s trajectory; his work originated in the streets and carried the urgency, irreverence, and immediacy of that environment. In presenting this rich tapestry, the film underscores how Basquiat's genius cannot be divorced from the time and place that shaped him.

One of Boom for Real's most compelling contributions lies in its exploration of Basquiat’s relationship with graffiti art and the broader context of street expression. Basquiat is sometimes mislabeled as a graffiti artist, but Driver draws a nuanced distinction, noting that while both Basquiat and graffiti artists turned to the urban environment for self-expression, their motivations and artistic trajectories were distinct. Like graffiti artists, Basquiat initially used the streets out of necessity, lacking access to traditional artistic spaces. The streets provided a shared canvas for those marginalised from mainstream venues, fostering a culture of creativity and defiance. However, while graffiti artists often embraced the street as an end in itself, and approached tagging as a form of identity, community, and rebellion against authority, Basquiat saw the urban environment as a stepping stone to his broader aspirations and self-expressed desire for fame. His approach to text and imagery pushed beyond the stylistic codes of graffiti, channeling personal expression, social critique, and cultural commentary that was different to graffiti’s short, impact-driven tags designed for immediate shock value.

The documentary also highlights Basquiat’s collaboration with Al Diaz under the SAMO© pseudonym, a formative but transitional chapter in his career. SAMO’s cryptic and provocative messages demonstrated Basquiat’s early utilisation of language as a tool for disruption and introspection. By framing Basquiat as a street artist rather than a graffiti artist, the film underscores the hybrid nature of his work and the way it bridged creative worlds. His art, Driver suggests, was a product of New York’s urban energy but was never constrained by it. This provides a deeper appreciation of how Basquiat redefined what it meant to create in public spaces, blending immediacy with depth, and paving the way for his meteoric rise in the art world. Driver’s careful parsing of this relationship reframes Basquiat’s legacy as not just a participant in the street art movement, but as a singular voice that transcended its conventions.

While Boom for Real falls short of being the definitive documentary on Basquiat, its value lies in what it captures about the world that shaped him - a world as chaotic, individual, and vibrant as his art. Driver’s focus on the late 1970s New York art scene provides critical context, illustrating how Basquiat’s work was both a response to and a reshaping of the cultural and social currents of the time. The city’s collapsing infrastructure, its burgeoning hip-hop and punk movements, and its street art revolution were not merely backdrops but integral components of Basquiat’s creative vocabulary.

This tribute, while flawed in its omissions and fragmented structure, is a necessary piece of the larger puzzle that is Basquiat’s story. It highlights not just the artist but the ecosystem of influences that nurtured his brilliance. By emphasising the collective and interconnected nature of this scene, the film pays homage to the world Basquiat inhabited and transformed. However, the lack of exploration into his personal philosophies, his heritage, and the undercurrents of systemic critique that ran through his work leaves the film feeling incomplete.

Boom for Real serves less as a comprehensive biography and more as a snapshot of a moment in cultural history. While it feels messy, disjointed and a little off-topic at times, it ultimately opens the door for viewers to engage with Basquiat’s art and legacy in a meaningful way. In doing so, the film reminds us that Basquiat’s true story lives on in the multifaceted, provocative, and enduring nature of his work. The film thrives in its ability to transport viewers into the anarchic vibrancy of late 1970s New York, and through vivid portrayals of this urban crucible, Driver demonstrates how Basquiat’s creativity was both a product of his environment and a force that reshaped it.