Downtown 81 Response
March 26, 2018, by Brandon
Downtown ’81 was a truly enjoyable New York experience of a film. The lo-fi nature of the movie definitely added to the allure and Basquiat carried it with a lot of energy. It felt extremely intimate and unlike pretty much any other somewhat narrative film set in the city that I’ve seen in a while.
More than anything, this movie reminded me of conversations we’ve had many times in class about New Yorkers added to our own mythology. There’s so much in this movie that makes it feel like they are painting the city in such light that captures both the intangible absurd and special yet still somehow grounded in reality. The way in which Basquiat simply meets the model who happens to pull over and ask him for a ride downtown is only part of the odd grimy-fairytale aspect of the film.
Beyond that, the film covers its bases of the New York world and does its best to be well-rounded. The intercut of the studio-footage mixed with the music definitely adds another layer to the movie and carried some of the scenes along nicely. In a way Downtown 81 seems like a self-aware satire that is simultaneously is all of the things that it’s not.
One of my favorite parts of the film is when Basquiat writes the piece that reads “The Whole Livery Line Bow Like This With the Big Money All Crushed Into These Feet”. I mean… I generally get the gist of it and fits with Basquiat’s oeuvre but it’s just vague enough to inspire contemplation. It obviously has some connotations of a critique of capitalism but it’s worded so peculiarly and poetically that it’s a flush piece of art. It’s also a statement that’s pointed ambiguity fits back into the idea of the mythology of the city. It’s hard to put your finger on but it’s out there in the ether of the urban anarchy.