Mapplethorpe

Mapplethorpe is a biographical drama about the American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, following him from his emergence in the New York art world of the 1970s through to his death in 1989 at the age of 42. The film traces his early years and his relationship with Patti Smith, his growing recognition as a photographer, and the tension between his artistic ambition and his personal life. Matt Smith plays the title role, with Marianne Rendón as Patti Smith, John Benjamin Hickey as the collector Sam Wagstaff, Brandon Sklenar as his brother Edward, and McKinley Belcher III and Mark Moses in supporting parts.

Ondi Timoner directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Mikko Alanne and Bruce Goodrich. The film is her second feature, arriving fifteen years after her debut, the documentary Dig!. Eliza Dushku, Richard J. Bosner and Timoner produced. It runs 102 minutes.

On IMDb, the film holds a rating of 6.2 from around 2,100 votes, and on TMDB a rating of 6.3 from a much smaller number of votes. A film critics' rating of 4.9 from 56 reviews places it below both audience scores.