Filmmaker Ondi Timoner’s spirited attempt to capture the very essence of the sheer genius who was Robert Mapplethorpe in this new scripted biopic, sadly leaves us asking for more.

In the two decades of his short life that are portrayed by Matt Smith playing the troubled photographer shows a self-centred man who could manipulate the people around him as and when he so desired. Starting with a young Patti Smith (Marianne Rendón) who adored him and was his first real driving force and who then conveniently turned a blind eye to his true sexuality until she couldn’t avoid it in the end.

Then there is his older patron Sam Wagstaff (John Benjamin Hickey) who provided Mapplethorpe with his first decent camera and more importantly gave him his heart too. The pair were seemingly happy as they could be until a overly confident Mapplethorpe started reenacting some of the sexual scenes that he had been photographing, but without including his devoted lover.

Not everyone was so completely enamoured with Mapplethorpe and his work. His conservative catholic father  (Mark Moses =) was opposed to practically everything, and Timoner also shows us Mapplethorpe’s work was being rejected by nearly every single gallery in NY .

Also there is one terrific scene in the movie when Milton (McKinley Belcher III) his African/American lover/model accuses Mapplethorpe of being racist and just exploiting him purely for the sake of his work.

In fact although the film shows him enjoying both critical and commercial success in the last few years of his life and all the trappings of wealth that came with it, it wasn’t until after his death in 1989 (aged just 42) that the real fame and the famous controversies started.

Timoner’s cinematopher beautiful captures that period, particularly in the NY building they used to substitute for the Chelsea Hotel which gives a perfect visual feel to the film.

Timoner doesn’t shy away from showing his controversial and sexually explicit photographs, but somehow fails to deal very deeply with the important elements that both shaped his life and his work. Brit actor Matt Smith more used to portraying British royalty on screen gives a very realistic performance but that could have benefited from a more structured script.

We certainly learn nothing new about Mapplethorpe’s already well documented life, but he is an iconic gay figure and it is always good that he is remembered and celebrated in any form.

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