From the early '70s until his untimely death at age 42, "Mapplethorpe," directed by Ondi Timoner, explores the intersection of Robert Mapplethorpe's art and sexuality, his struggle for mainstream recognition, and, looming above it all, the specter of the emerging AIDS crisis. Featuring Matt Smith ("Doctor Who," "The Crown") and Marianne Rendón, the biopic offers a nuanced portrait of an artist at the height of his craft and of the self-destructive impulses that threaten to undermine it all.
