Best Movies About Creative Genius Review

Every year there seems to be a new movie about a famous musician or painter or writer. I'm interested in the creative process, and the demons that seem to always go along for the ride. These are my favorite films about art, artists and the creative process.

Pollock - I can't honestly say I care for the art of Jackson Pollock. To be completely honest, I think it's pretty much artsy fartsy BS: paint splatters being passed off as great art. I do, however, think he was an interesting person, with some really interesting and innovative ideas about the asthetic qualities of art. Ed Harris is masterful as the mentally unstable, cruel, hard drinking, selfish, egotistical brute who became the darling of the art world. Marcia Gay Harden is brilliant as his long-suffering wife - a much more talented artist who put her own work aside to play cheerleader for her husband.

De-Lovely - Has America produced a greater songwriter than Cole Porter? It's doubtful. Chances are you know Porter's music, even if you don't know who he was. So many of his songs have become American standards. His life was every bit as interesting as his music. A promiscuous homosexual, Porter married Linda Lee, a wealthy divorcee' who agreed to turn a blind eye to her husband's true nature, in exchange for his fine company and a real and true affection that existed between the two. Unfortunately, an arrangement such as this one rarely works, and De-Lovely tracks Porter's path as his fame becomes so huge that he ceases to handle his wife's feelings with care. The film takes many liberties and a great deal of artistic license (Cole Porter and Linda Lee were nowhere near as physically attractive as the dashing Kevin Kline and the gorgeous Ashley Judd), but captures the spirit of the era when Porter was king. Captured with equal poignancy are the later years, when Porter became a depressed, pathetic shell of a man. The film is surprisingly heart-breaking: one doesn't expect to be so moved by a love story about a gay man and his loving wife.

Capote - "I am not a saint. I am an alcoholic. I am a drug addict. I am a homosexual. I am a genius." Say what you will, Truman Capote had a way about him and, if he was the first to toot his own horn, he was also the first to cut himself down. This film, about one of my favorite writers, examine's Capote's investigation of a brutal multiple murder in America's heartland. In order to get the goods, Capote befriends one of the murderers, even helping him find a lawyer. Even as their friendship deepens, Capote keeps his eye on the prize: his book will only be a success, there can only be an end to the book, if this murderer is executed. Nothing is simple for Truman Capote, and nothing is simple about this film. The only sure thing is this: Truman Capote will write this book, come hell or high water. He will sell his soul for this book, and expect sympathy for his bad behavior. Fascinating. Heartbreaking. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the greatest living actor, period.

Bird - Clint Eastwood's labor of love, this often-overlooked jazz biopic of the great Charlie Parker is, to put it simply, brilliant. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it. If the Forrest Whitaker's stunning performance doesn't blow you away, check and see if your heart is still beating. The soundtrack is great, the cinematography is beautiful. Prepare to be amazed that Parker made so much great music during his short, tortured life. All in all, a near-perfect film.

American Splendor - This is an unusual little film. Harvey Pekar has been writing cult comic book American Splendor for 30 years or so by now. His comic is based on his real life - the people he works with, the quirky relationship he and his wife share, his financial struggles, the urban decay that surrounds him. The film is half biopic, half doco, as the real life Harvey (and others in his life) show up form time to time, as themselves, to comment on the film in progress. I know this sounds strange, and this is like no other film you've seen, but it's great. Is Harvey Pekar a truly mad artist? Nah...mad at the world, maybe, but not crazy. In fact, he's refreshingly real and sane, and his struggles are ones many will recognize as their own. One of my indy favorites, Hope Davis, plays the role of his wife.

Lust For Life - An oldie but a goodie. The great Kirk Douglas as Vincent Van Gough, the ultimate tortured genius. Douglas quite plainly becomes Van Gough - both in looks and demeanor. Add the physically imposing Anthony Quinn as Paul Gaugin, and you've got a classicfilm well worth watching the next time it's on TCM.

Pinero - Miguel Pinero was a drug addict, a street kid, a hustler, an ex-con....and the father of the spoken word poetry movement that still lives on today. He lived fast and died young, and burned many, many bridges along the way. Benjamin Bratt does a great job with this role. When I first heard he had taken the role on, I doubted it would work. To be frank, I thought Bratt was way to handsome - pretty, even - to play such an ugly character. In fact, Bratt is so good, that it takes only a few minutes to forget about his movie star good looks, and become completely immersed in the story of a man who was talented and beaming with promise, but who seemed unable to shake off his demons, and unable to keep from hurting the people who loved him most. A bit of trivia - the beautiful young woman who plays the closest thing MIguel Pinero had to a love interest is Telisa Soto, Bratt's real life wife. It should be illegal for there to be that much pretty in one family!

Hnorable mention: Basquiat, Wilde, Amadeus.