Piñero (2001)
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43% of critics liked it
(61 reviews) -
67% of users liked it
(976 ratings)
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… More 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 Bratt) turns to streets for solace. Soon he is engaging in petty crime, drug dealing, and addiction. When he finds himself in Sing-Sing, he turns his experiences in prison into the play Short Eyes, which eventually garners him seven Tony awards in 1974. Uncomfortable with his new fame, he clings to his girlfriend, Sugar (Talisa Soto), and his childhood buddy, Miguel Algarin (Giancarlo Esposito), who is a literature professor and who co-founded the Nuyorican Cafe. Though Pinero makes cameos on such shows as Kojak, his art begins to suffer as he starts to succumb to his drug addictions. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Directed By
- Leon Ichaso
- Written By
- Leon Ichaso
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Dec 31, 2002 Wide
- Studio
- Miramax Films
Critic Reviews
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Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
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.
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Dennis Harvey, Variety
A scattershot stab at a fascinating life and times.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
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.
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Loren King, Chicago Tribune
A vivid rendering of the complexities of the artist's soul, and a notable attempt to convey the trajectory of a volatile creative life.
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Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
Bratt's performance is as steady and consistent as the film is frustrating.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Benjamin Bratt
as Miguel
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Giancarlo Esposito
as Miguel Algarin
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Talisa Soto
as Sugar
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Nelson Vasquez
as Tito
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Mandy Patinkin
as Joseph Papp
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Michael Irby
as Reinaldo Povod
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Michael Wright
as Edgar
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Rita Moreno
as Miguel's Mother
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Jaime Sánchez
as Miguel's Father
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Rome Neal
as Jake
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Amiri Baraka
as Himself
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Bill Boggs
as Lennon Anchorman
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Luis Caballero
as Shooting Gallery Man
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Oscar Colon
as Bodega Man
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O.L. Duke
as Paul
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Mateo Gomez
as Auditorium Man
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Panchito Gomez
as Acting Inmate
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Robert Klein
as Doctor
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Antonia Rey
as Senora
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Fisher Stevens
as Public Theatre Cashier
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Jaime Tirelli
as Marty
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Griffin Dunne
as Agent
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Valentina Quinn
as Interviewer
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Miriam Cruz
as Bodega Woman
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Bruno Iannone
as Port Authority Cop
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John Ortiz
as Gang Member
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Charles Sammarco
as Strange Shower Guy
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Ed Vassallo
as Tito Arrest Cop
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Al Rodriguez
as Cuqui
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Sophia Domoulin
as Shooting Gallery Woman
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Gilbert Collazo
as Miguel As Teen
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Samuel Bruce Campbell
as Short Eyes Cop
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Loraine Velez
as Tutu
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Eric Nieves
as Nuyorican
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Lisa Rhoden
as P.A. Woman
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Ray Santiago
as Willie
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Charles Santy
as Lincoln
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Vanessa Del Sol
as Heist Woman
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Amanda KC
as Barrio Bar Woman
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Tony Vazzo
as Auditorium Man 2
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Lydia Trueheart
as Woman with Baby
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Pedro Pietri
as Himself
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Jamal Joseph
as Himself
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Miguel Algarin
as Himself
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Tara Wilson
as Tito's Girlfriend
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Joanne Newborn
as Fur Woman #1
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Francine Berman
as Fur Woman #2
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Jack A. O'Connell
as Chauffeur
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Jack O'Connell
as Chauffeur
- Jack O'Connell (II)
