Looking for Movies With Characters That Make Art
June 7, 2019 8:51 AM Subscribe
I’m interested in compiling a list of movies in which one or more of the characters make art. Any suggestions?
I’m not really looking for movies about art as the main topic, like Frida or Exit Through the Gift Shop, although I certainly wouldn’t begrudge any suggestions for great movies about art!
But I’m really more interested in movies about whatever else, that has scenes with a character creating visual art - for example, in Shopgirl, the protagonist makes charcoal drawings in her free time, or in Love & Other Drugs, the main female character takes polaroids, cuts them up, and makes collages. It’d be great if the movie is decently good, in your opinion, I want to actually watch them. Thanks in advance!
I’m not really looking for movies about art as the main topic, like Frida or Exit Through the Gift Shop, although I certainly wouldn’t begrudge any suggestions for great movies about art!
But I’m really more interested in movies about whatever else, that has scenes with a character creating visual art - for example, in Shopgirl, the protagonist makes charcoal drawings in her free time, or in Love & Other Drugs, the main female character takes polaroids, cuts them up, and makes collages. It’d be great if the movie is decently good, in your opinion, I want to actually watch them. Thanks in advance!
Henry & Joon (see paints and sketches)
Basquiat (more of a biopic, but very good)
What Dreams May Come (his wife paints and works in a gallery)
Kiki's Delivery Service (her friend is a painter)
Ghost (pottery)
Amelie (her neighbor teaches her to paint)
Being John Malkovich (he makes marionettes)
posted by ananci at 9:06 AM on June 7, 2019
Basquiat (more of a biopic, but very good)
What Dreams May Come (his wife paints and works in a gallery)
Kiki's Delivery Service (her friend is a painter)
Ghost (pottery)
Amelie (her neighbor teaches her to paint)
Being John Malkovich (he makes marionettes)
posted by ananci at 9:06 AM on June 7, 2019
IMDB's Top 70 movies about painters or artists.
To that list I will add: Cradle Will Rock, which covers three 1930s Depression-Era arts-related incidents; two are performing arts stories, but the third concerns Diego Rivera's mural for Nelson Rockefeller and that mural's subsequent destruction. Come for Ruben Blades as Rivera painting his fresco, stay for the weird dance scene with John Cusack as Nelson Rockefeller cavorting with nude models in Rivera's studio.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 AM on June 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
To that list I will add: Cradle Will Rock, which covers three 1930s Depression-Era arts-related incidents; two are performing arts stories, but the third concerns Diego Rivera's mural for Nelson Rockefeller and that mural's subsequent destruction. Come for Ruben Blades as Rivera painting his fresco, stay for the weird dance scene with John Cusack as Nelson Rockefeller cavorting with nude models in Rivera's studio.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 AM on June 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
In America has a character (Mateo) who is a painter and I think paints a few times in the film.
posted by dismas at 9:07 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by dismas at 9:07 AM on June 7, 2019
Benny and Joon (different from Henry and June) has some really lovingly filmed scenes of one of the characters painting.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:08 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:08 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
The version of Great Expectations with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth.
posted by sallybrown at 9:11 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by sallybrown at 9:11 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
There are two films loosely based on the life of Australian artist Norman Lindsay
- Age of Consent
- Sirens
Savage Messiah is a biographical film of the life of French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska.
Ian McKellan does some sketching in Gods and Monsters.
The Draughtsman's Contract is about a wealthy landowner who hires a draughtsman to draw illustrations of his estate.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 9:22 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
- Age of Consent
- Sirens
Savage Messiah is a biographical film of the life of French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska.
Ian McKellan does some sketching in Gods and Monsters.
The Draughtsman's Contract is about a wealthy landowner who hires a draughtsman to draw illustrations of his estate.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 9:22 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
The big Lebowski (an artist swinging from the ceiling)
Road to Perdition (hitman/photographer)
Closer (photographer)
Mirrormask (a little girl that draws really well)
posted by speakeasy at 9:39 AM on June 7, 2019
Road to Perdition (hitman/photographer)
Closer (photographer)
Mirrormask (a little girl that draws really well)
posted by speakeasy at 9:39 AM on June 7, 2019
The protagonist in Get Out is a photographer of the artistic kind.
Shadow of the Vampire is as much about the process of filmmaking in the 1920s as it is about vampires.
posted by darchildre at 9:46 AM on June 7, 2019
Shadow of the Vampire is as much about the process of filmmaking in the 1920s as it is about vampires.
posted by darchildre at 9:46 AM on June 7, 2019
Two about fashion photographers:
- Funny Face (Loosely based on Richard Avedon)
- Blow Up.
posted by octothorpe at 9:48 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
- Funny Face (Loosely based on Richard Avedon)
- Blow Up.
posted by octothorpe at 9:48 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Where the Heart Is is a 1990s comedy about the seemingly shiftless adult children of a real-estate magnate. Prevented from tearing down a dilapidated historic building for his latest endeavour and mocked for it by his children, he turfs them out of the family home and sends them to live in the ramshackle house telling them to fend for themselves. One of them is an artist and she paints the walls of the house with murals and uses body paint and costuming to blend people into the paintings. Notable for featuring Uma Thurman & Crispin Glover in their early days.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 10:04 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by Secret Sparrow at 10:04 AM on June 7, 2019
The main character of People Places Things is a graphic novelist. It's not the main plot element, but there are several scenes of him drawing and teaching.
posted by bricoleur at 10:21 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by bricoleur at 10:21 AM on June 7, 2019
Slaves of New York features lots of people making lots of art and has a great soundtrack. Plus Bernadette Peters.
posted by mefireader at 10:25 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by mefireader at 10:25 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
The Time Traveler's Wife - the title character is an artist.
posted by soelo at 10:29 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by soelo at 10:29 AM on June 7, 2019
Captain America likes to sketch. I believe we see some of his work in Avengers.
posted by praemunire at 10:30 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by praemunire at 10:30 AM on June 7, 2019
Oh! And of course Hannibal Lecter sketches in The Silence of the Lambs.
posted by praemunire at 10:34 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by praemunire at 10:34 AM on June 7, 2019
One more, Charles Ryder is an artist and while we don't see much of his work in the classic Granada Brideshead miniseries, there is at least one scene where he's sketching his first encounter with the future love of his life while sitting in an Oxford lecture hall, and one where he's painting a fresco at said love interest's house.
posted by praemunire at 10:36 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by praemunire at 10:36 AM on June 7, 2019
The Iron Giant? (IMDB) The junkyard sculptures are a crucial bit of the movie, and I've always enjoyed the part where Harry Connick Jr. is yelling at the alien robot for eating his art rather than the scrap.
posted by turkeybrain at 10:56 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by turkeybrain at 10:56 AM on June 7, 2019
Better than Chocolate - visual/performance artist dates a painter and sketches various pieces of visual , performance and other art are made throughout the film
Art School Confidential - mostly paintings
Ghost World - paintings
She's All That - paintings
Depends on what you mean by visual art do you only mean drawings, painting and sculpture. Fosse/Verdon features a lot of sequences of composing choreography.
posted by edbles at 10:58 AM on June 7, 2019
Art School Confidential - mostly paintings
Ghost World - paintings
She's All That - paintings
Depends on what you mean by visual art do you only mean drawings, painting and sculpture. Fosse/Verdon features a lot of sequences of composing choreography.
posted by edbles at 10:58 AM on June 7, 2019
Obligatory reference to the sketching scene in Titanic.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:58 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:58 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
tarkovsky's andrei rublev painting, architecture, bell forging.
posted by 20 year lurk at 11:09 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by 20 year lurk at 11:09 AM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Unicorn Store (on Netflix) Main character wants to be an artist
posted by Tabitha Someday at 11:17 AM on June 7, 2019
posted by Tabitha Someday at 11:17 AM on June 7, 2019
Vertigo. The art being made is a plot point, but not the main topic.
posted by frobozz at 12:10 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by frobozz at 12:10 PM on June 7, 2019
Greg Kinnear plays an artist in As Good as It Gets.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:37 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:37 PM on June 7, 2019
After Hours
Little Women (Amy goes to France to paint)
Legal Eagles (though it's pretty terrible)
posted by Mchelly at 12:52 PM on June 7, 2019
Little Women (Amy goes to France to paint)
Legal Eagles (though it's pretty terrible)
posted by Mchelly at 12:52 PM on June 7, 2019
Dead Again, and saying any more would be giving it away.
posted by condour75 at 1:17 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by condour75 at 1:17 PM on June 7, 2019
The Horse's Mouth, the 1958 film starring Alec Guinness as a painter. Guinness also wrote the script, based on Joyce Cary's 1944 novel. The Guinness character's paintings in the movie are by the real painter John Bratby. Painting and art are central in the story. The scenes of making and displaying the paintings are dramatic and memorable.
posted by JonJacky at 1:22 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by JonJacky at 1:22 PM on June 7, 2019
An Unmarried Woman, a 1978 film with Alan Bates as a painter. Bates was coached by the real painter Paul Jenkins, who also made the paintings in the movie.
posted by JonJacky at 1:29 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by JonJacky at 1:29 PM on June 7, 2019
After Hours by Martin Scorsese, though you can't really tell from the trailer.
The Gene Kelly character in An American in Paris is a painter.
posted by brookeb at 2:10 PM on June 7, 2019
The Gene Kelly character in An American in Paris is a painter.
posted by brookeb at 2:10 PM on June 7, 2019
Can’t believe I forgot about Haiku Tunnel. The main character is a temp who is also writing a novel. Warning: I love this movie, but no one I’ve convinced to see it has liked it at all. I’ve seen it called an art house Office Space.
posted by FencingGal at 2:49 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by FencingGal at 2:49 PM on June 7, 2019
Empire Records - the character AJ was an artist. At one point in the movie he glues coins to the floor as an art piece.
posted by simplethings at 3:44 PM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by simplethings at 3:44 PM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Hereditary- Toni Collette is a sculptor
The Player- Greta Scacchi is a painter
Synecdoche New York- Catherine Keener paints miniatures
Vicky Christina Barcelona- Javier Bardem is a painter
Beetlejuice- Catherine O’Hara is a sculptor
Woman in White- Walter Hartright (character) is a drawing teacher
posted by Dwardles at 4:03 PM on June 7, 2019
The Player- Greta Scacchi is a painter
Synecdoche New York- Catherine Keener paints miniatures
Vicky Christina Barcelona- Javier Bardem is a painter
Beetlejuice- Catherine O’Hara is a sculptor
Woman in White- Walter Hartright (character) is a drawing teacher
posted by Dwardles at 4:03 PM on June 7, 2019
Life Lessons, the Scorsese-directed chapter of the anthology film New York Stories.
posted by macadamiaranch at 4:22 PM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by macadamiaranch at 4:22 PM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
A Perfect Murder, where Gwyneth Paltrow is having an affair with an artist.
posted by Jubey at 4:35 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by Jubey at 4:35 PM on June 7, 2019
The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Sabina (played by Lena Olin) creates mixed media pieces focused around mirrors, and there’s an extended scene in which she and Tereza (Juliette Binoche) take erotic photographs of each other.
posted by ejs at 4:46 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by ejs at 4:46 PM on June 7, 2019
Sorry to Bother You's Detroit (played by Tessa Thompson) is an artist.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:48 PM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:48 PM on June 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Dhobi Ghat - one of the main characters is an artist.
posted by JuliaJellicoe at 6:23 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by JuliaJellicoe at 6:23 PM on June 7, 2019
Making paintings is kinda boring while the camera is staring, but artists are funny people.
(Mentioned: Slaves of New York is a fun & underrated film about the 1980s New York art world. Basquiat is a decent film about the same scene.)
Love is the Devil (1998) is film about Francis Bacon.
Lust for Life (1956) is the first famous version of many various films about Vincent Van Gogh. You could look at all these versions as a history of perspectives in art in the 20th century. My personal favourite is the one in Kurosawa's Dreams (1990).
posted by ovvl at 6:55 PM on June 7, 2019
(Mentioned: Slaves of New York is a fun & underrated film about the 1980s New York art world. Basquiat is a decent film about the same scene.)
Love is the Devil (1998) is film about Francis Bacon.
Lust for Life (1956) is the first famous version of many various films about Vincent Van Gogh. You could look at all these versions as a history of perspectives in art in the 20th century. My personal favourite is the one in Kurosawa's Dreams (1990).
posted by ovvl at 6:55 PM on June 7, 2019
The Pillow Book has lots and lots of calligraphy, some created on camera.
posted by janell at 7:24 PM on June 7, 2019
posted by janell at 7:24 PM on June 7, 2019
Camille Claudel is about a very talented sculptor in Rodin's studio.
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:16 AM on June 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:16 AM on June 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
Personal Shopper is a weird ghost story with Kristen Stewart, who does some sketching, and it is a fantastic movie. It’s very accurate about the messed up economics of the art world.
posted by velebita at 6:29 AM on June 8, 2019
posted by velebita at 6:29 AM on June 8, 2019
The wonderful Basqiat, with Jeffery Wright!
posted by bird internet at 6:37 AM on June 8, 2019
posted by bird internet at 6:37 AM on June 8, 2019
In Hannah and Her Sisters, Max von Sydow plays a reclusive artist.
In New York Stories, Nick Nolte plays an abstract artist.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 6:27 PM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
In New York Stories, Nick Nolte plays an abstract artist.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 6:27 PM on June 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I liked the drawing process shown in The Hedgehog I posted an AskMe about the pens she uses!
posted by kristi at 8:40 PM on June 11, 2019
posted by kristi at 8:40 PM on June 11, 2019
In the odd, underappreciated Man of Flowers, the protagonist takes a figure drawing course. He later gives the ultimate criticism to the boyfriend of one of his models.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:41 PM on June 19, 2019
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:41 PM on June 19, 2019
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(Also, I am not in any way a comic book fan, a fan of Harvey Pekar, or a fan of Robert Crumb, but I really liked this movie.)
Also, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing is about a secretary who works in an art gallery (a job she's not good at) who is also a photographer.
For movies about artists, I really like Wilde, starring Stephen Fry, about Oscar Wilde.
posted by FencingGal at 9:01 AM on June 7, 2019 [4 favorites]