The Basketball Diaries (film)

The Basketball Diaries
File:The Basketball Diaries movie poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Scott Kalvert
Written by	Jim Carroll Bryan Goluboff
Produced by	Liz Heller
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Lorraine Bracco James Madio Mark Wahlberg Bruno Kirby
Cinematography	David Phillips
Edited by	Dana Congdon
Music by	Graeme Revell
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release dates	April 21, 1995
Running time	102 min.
Country
Language	English
Box office	$2,424,439

The Basketball Diaries is a 1995 film based on the book of the same name by Jim Carroll. The film features original music by Red Hot Chili Peppers' bass player, Flea.

Plot

Jim Carroll (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a high school basketball player. His life centers on basketball, and his dream is being a basketball star. Once in a while he gets stoned with his friends, and step by step, he falls into the dark world of crime and drugs. Once his mother expels him from the house, he goes into the streets of New York, and together with his friends takes drugs for which they steal, rob and even kill.

As time passes, Jim's situation becomes worse. It looks like he will never escape his drug addiction. One night, after hallucinating on the basketball court where he played as a youth and passes out in the snow, he blacks out and wakes up, presumably days later, in the home of Reggie, an older acquaintance with whom he previously enjoyed playing one-on-one basketball. Jim attempts to leave, but Reggie prevents this. He eventually tells Jim that he is a recovering drug addict and has been in Jim's situation. Jim acquieces to the offer of help, and endures the process of withdrawal over several days. However, upon leaving, he relapses, finally ending up incarcerated, where he goes clean. The final scene of the movie is a recovered Jim sitting on a stool on a nightclub stage, reciting his life story.

Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Jim Carroll
• Lorraine Bracco as Mrs. Carroll
• James Madio as Pedro
• Patrick McGaw as Neutron
• Mark Wahlberg as Mickey
• Roy Cooper as Father McNulty
• Bruno Kirby as Swifty
• Jimmy Papiris as Iggy
• Alexander Chaplin as Bobo
• Ben Jorgensen as Tommy
• Josh Mostel as Counterman
• Juliette Lewis as Diane Moody
• Michael Imperioli as Bobby
• Ernie Hudson as Reggie
• Cynthia Daniel as Winkie
• Brittany Daniel as Blinkie

Controversy

Upon the film's release it gained heavy controversy. Due to its portrayal of drug addiction, prostitution and many other controversial subjects, the film was cut in order to receive an R Rating at the MPAA, and was banned in South Korea. The uncut version was later released on DVD in the U.S.

Controversy arose again in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre on April 20,1999. The film contains a dream sequence in which Jim enters his school while wearing a black trenchcoat and shoots several students and teachers with a shotgun while his friends cheer him on.

Trivia

• River Phoenix (Stand By Me) was somewhat considered for the role of Jim Carroll. After his death due to a drug overdose in October of 1993, Leonardo DiCaprio was cast.
• DiCaprio and Wahlberg later worked together with Martin Scorsese in the film The Departed.
• Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli previously worked together in the film Goodfellas and appeared again later on the television show The Sopranos.
• In the scene where DiCaprio snorts cocaine at Winkie and Blinkie's apartment, he snorted Ovaltine
• The soundtrack includes the only released solo track by Flea.

External links

• The Basketball Diaries at IMDb
• The Basketball Diaries at AllMovie