rating of 47% based on 43 reviews and with an average rating of 5.3/10. The websites critical consensus states "In spite of its young leading man's heroic efforts to hold it all together, a muddled message prevents The Basketball Diaries from compelling as a cautionary tale." Metacritic gave the movie a score of 46 based in 19 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four. Ebert remarked: "At the end, Jim is seen going in through a 'stage door' and then we hear him telling the story of his descent and recovery. We can't tell if this is supposed to be genuine testimony or a performance. That's the problem with the whole movie." Lawsuits The film became controversial in the aftermath of the 1997 Heath High School shooting and the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. Critics noted similarities between those shooting attacks and a dream sequence in the film in which the protagonist (Leonardo DiCaprio) wears a black trenchcoat and shoots six students in his school classroom. The film has been named in lawsuits brought by the relatives of murder victims. In 1999, activist Jack Thompson filed a $33 million lawsuit claiming that the film's plot (along with two internet pornography sites, several computer game companies, and makers and distributors of the 1994 film Natural Born Killers) caused the Heath High School shooting. The case was dismissed in 2001. Soundtrack The Basketball Diaries soundtrack was released in 1995 by PolyGram to accompany the film, featuring songs from Pearl Jam and PJ Harvey. AllMusic rated it three stars out of five. References External links 1995 crime drama films 1995 directorial debut films 1995 films 1995 independent films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s coming-of-age drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s teen drama films American basketball films American biographical drama films American coming-of-age drama films American crime drama films American independent films American sports drama films American teen drama films Biographical films about children Biographical films about writers Crime films based on actual events Drama films based on actual events Films about heroin addiction Films based on autobiographies Films scored by Graeme Revell Films set in New York City Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York City Films about mother–son relationships New Line Cinema films 1990s American films