No photographer of the twentieth century was as renowned for his ability to capture such great beauty – and court such great controversy – as Robert Mapplethorpe. Though he died nearly thirty years ago, Mapplethorpe’s name remains synonymous today with boundary-pushing and bold artistic contrasts, owing to both his gorgeous black-and-white prints of voluptuous flowers and his stunning, provocative nude studies of the BDSM subculture.
The first-ever biopic of the artist, Mapplethorpe stars a revelatory Matt Smith (“Doctor Who,” “The Crown,” Christopher and His Kind) in the title role. The award-winning British actor portrays Mapplethorpe from his early days in New York City, chronicling his relationships with musician Patti Smith (Marianne Rendón) and curator Sam Wagstaff (John Benjamin Hickey), to his death in 1989 from HIV/AIDS at age 42.
