Piñero (2001)
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 61
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 35
Though Bratt is great in the title role, the biopic itself is messy and Piñero grows tiresome.
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 15
Though Bratt is great in the title role, the biopic itself is messy and Piñero grows tiresome.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 976
My Rating
Movie Info
Miguel Pinero became a leading figure in New York's art scene during the 1970s as a poet, actor, and playwright whose vibrant, often pointed, work spoke directly to the lower classes and to disenfranchised minorities. As a founder of the influential Nuyorican Poets Cafe, his poetry soon became recognized as a forerunner to rap and hip-hop music. TV screenwriter turned director Leon Ichaso spins this impressionistic biographical look at this artist. Raised in an abusive family, Pinero (Benjamin
Dec 31, 2002 Wide
Jul 16, 2002
$0.2M
Miramax Films
Cast
-
Benjamin Bratt
Miguel -
Giancarlo Esposito
Miguel Algarin -
Talisa Soto
Sugar -
Nelson Vasquez
Tito -
Mandy Patinkin
Joseph Papp -
Michael Irby
Reinaldo Povod -
Michael Wright
Edgar -
Rita Moreno
Miguel's Mother -
Jaime Sánchez
Miguel's Father -
Rome Neal
Jake -
Amiri Baraka
Himself -
Bill Boggs
Lennon Anchorman -
Luis Caballero
Shooting Gallery Man -
Oscar Colon
Bodega Man -
O.L. Duke
Paul -
Mateo Gomez
Auditorium Man -
Panchito Gomez
Acting Inmate -
Robert Klein
Doctor -
Antonia Rey
Senora -
Fisher Stevens
Public Theatre Cashier -
Jaime Tirelli
Marty -
Griffin Dunne
Agent -
Valentina Quinn
Interviewer -
Miriam Cruz
Bodega Woman -
Bruno Iannone
Port Authority Cop -
John Ortiz
Gang Member -
Charles Sammarco
Strange Shower Guy -
Ed Vassallo
Tito Arrest Cop -
Al Rodriguez
Cuqui -
Sophia Domoulin
Shooting Gallery Woman -
Gilbert Collazo
Miguel As Teen -
Samuel Bruce Campbell
Short Eyes Cop -
Loraine Velez
Tutu -
Eric Nieves
Nuyorican -
Lisa Rhoden
P.A. Woman -
Ray Santiago
Willie -
Charles Santy
Lincoln -
Vanessa Del Sol
Heist Woman -
Amanda KC
Barrio Bar Woman -
Tony Vazzo
Auditorium Man 2 -
Lydia Trueheart
Woman with Baby -
Pedro Pietri
Himself -
Jamal Joseph
Himself -
Miguel Algarin
Himself -
Tara Wilson
Tito's Girlfriend -
Joanne Newborn
Fur Woman #1 -
Francine Berman
Fur Woman #2 -
Jack A. O'Connell
Chauffeur -
Jack O'Connell
Chauffeur -
ADVERTISEMENT
Piñero Trailer & Photos
All Critics (61) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (36) | DVD (8)
Overlapping the artist's biography and his work, writer-director Leon Ichaso pointedly reflects the chaos in his subject's shortish life, but he links the artist's frustrations and talent in the usual manner: as cause and effect.
Top CriticA scattershot stab at a fascinating life and times.
Flashily but irritatingly shot, full of unmotivated switches from colour to b/w, sudden flashbacks, mannered slow mo and jump cuts, this is hardly a subtle evocation of its subject's life.
A vivid rendering of the complexities of the artist's soul, and a notable attempt to convey the trajectory of a volatile creative life.
Bratt's performance is as steady and consistent as the film is frustrating.
Bratt ... takes a giant step forward in terms of credibility.
I thought biographical movies were supposed to be interesting.
Who was Piñero, and more to the point, why should we care? Bratt brings him to life, but we come away appreciating his genius no more than we did before.
The narrative jumps haphazardly from set-piece to set-piece.
A movie of attitude that -- much like its main character -- consumes itself.
An artistic nightmare, marred by numerous stylistic leaps.
The only reason a person hops back-and-forth in one scene, from scene to scene, using (a) color film, (b) black-and-white stock, and (c) digital video (then back to (b), then (c) again, then (a), then...) is merely to do it because they can.
Pinero asks us to applaud the author's art, not his life, but the film provides us little of either to praise.
The film's cinematic technique is supposed to be vibrant and alive and reflect Pinero's variegated lifestyle, but it never gets to the soul of the man....
This biopic seemed about as amorphous as a junkie high.
This promises to be one of the better films of the year and Bratt's performance deserves at least a nomination...
Benjamin Bratt, the pretty boy once seen on the arm of America's sweetheart Julia Roberts, plays Piñero with a passion. It's a star-making performance.
God is jealous of Benjamin Bratt, but He's coming around...Bratt's performance [here] is electrifying and charismatic.
Audience Reviews for Piñero
Pinero was a poet who lived in New York. The troubled man's life was splattered with excessive drug and
alcohol abuse.
Benjamin Bratt stars as Pinero and he does a good job at showing the poet's torment and disinegration. But his performance is the highlight. The film never finds a cohereant narrative, losing its focus.
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Piñero yet.
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Critics Consensus: Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh 2
- Red Carpet Photos with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano and More 0
- Video: The Hangover Part III Cast Interviews 0
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 37
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 9
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
Top Headlines
-
Evan Peters Joins X-Men: Days of Future Past
0
-
Toby Jones Talks Captain America: The Winter Soldier
0
-
The Poltergeist Reboot May Actually Be a Sequel
1
-
Will Forte Promises MacGruber 2
0
-
Universal Plans Timecop Reboot
0
-
Return of the Jedi Turns 30
0
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
