Art School Confidential (Comedy)
Picture: B- Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: B-
The
Cinema of Terry Zwigoff has been an interesting one for a while. It is always the world of people in the
underside of America which is no longer so hidden, with a slight sense of
existential angst (even in the blatantly crude and commercial Bad Santa) that almost grounds the
stories in reality. There is also a
sense of everyone being a performer not unlike in Kubrick films, though it is
more explicit in his work, so Art School
Confidential (2005) is the most explicit addressing of this to date.
The film
centers on Jerome (Max Minghella) and his obsession with becoming the greatest
artist ever, no matter what. This is
sidetracked by all the geeks and pretentious would-be artists he comes across,
an eccentric teacher (John Malkovich) and a girl he has fallen for (Sophie
Miles) named Audrey. She starts to
become interested in a painter (Matt Kesslar) who is competition, but things
get wackier for everyone when a killer surfaces on campus!
Though
never contrived, the film falls shorts of possibilities and expectations as
some plot points become convoluted, conclusion lame and pop culture references
not so clever. Daniel Clowes wrote the
screenplay that is not smug, but not as savvy at he thinks it is. One way Zwigoff’s characters have been
thought of as is in the “losers” category, though it is funny how that is never
totally defined anywhere.
Also, the
film never forcibly tries to be hip and the actors are good, but ultimately,
once things become too involved in plot mechanics, any personal stories taper
off and what could possibly have been a great film falls far too short of its
potential.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image looks good as shot by cinematographer
Jamie Anderson, A.S.C., with good color, moments of detail and smooth
editing. Though not perfect, it
convincingly lives up to the claim that it is “Mastered in High Definition” as
the case states. The Dolby Digital 5.1
mix is more laid back as it is a dialogue-based film and most of the action is
in the front speakers. The combination
is good. Extras include blooper reel,
deleted scenes, trailers, Sundance featurette and a making of featurette.
- Nicholas Sheffo
