Directed by Ondi Timoner • 2018 • United States
Starring Matt Smith, Marianne Rendón, John Benjamin Hickey

One of the most important and controversial artists of the twentieth century, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe captured eroticism in a way that had never been seen before. Set during the 1970s and ’80s, when he discovered himself both sexually and artistically in New York City, Ondi Timoner’s portrait of the artist follows Mapplethorpe (Matt Smith) and Patti Smith (Marianne Rendón) as they become ensconced in the world of the famed Chelsea Hotel, home to an edgy underground world of bohemian chic. Here, Mapplethorpe begins photographing the hotel’s inhabitants and his newfound circle of friends, including artists and musicians, socialites, film stars, and members of the gay S&M underground. Exploring the intersection of his art and his sexuality along with his struggle for mainstream recognition, MAPPLETHORPE offers a nuanced portrait of an artist at the height of his craft and of the self-destructive impulses that threatened to undermine it all.