And, again, yes, you can totally search for this, but My Old School is more fun when you're along for the ride. Once the cat is out of the bag, archival footage from the school and Lee's subsequent apology tour will reveal his '90s face, creating a terrific payoff for the doc's shocking climax. It works perfectly thematically to portray teen bullying, reckless partying, and cool kid makeovers in this way, but it's also a nifty solution to keep Lee's face off camera, helping obscure the secret at this story's center. The Daria style of bold colors and thick black outlines urges Gen X'ers and elder millenials into a cozy nostalgia, priming us for scenes of high school hijinks. The students and their teachers are illustrated as caricatures, which like the Cumming casting proves sublimely smart. Better yet, it does so in a style that is heavily influenced by MTV's hit '90s cartoon Daria. Rather than pulling a Pen15, where adults essentially cosplay as kids in a live-action comedy style, My Old School animates its re-enactments with voice acting from performers. Playing the contemporary Lee, Cumming wears gray hair, glasses, and the conservative garbs of a respectable everyman, but his performance extends to the documentary's many re-enactments of Lee's time among his 16-year-old classmates. Yeah, and that's just a taste! My Old School pulls from Daria in a sensational way. And what a hiding place: behind the face of a beloved, award-winning thespian of the stage and screen who brings a mischievous wink and sly sophistication to every outlandish anecdote, including the nonchalant insistence that Lee has the mind control powers of a Jedi. However, this unsettling distinction urges the audience to question everything Lee says from the very start. Cummings is recognizably a pro, whereas the rest of the interview subjects are unguarded civilians.
Though this is a cheeky nod to the story's complicated nature, the casting is jarring at first. McLeod tapped Alan Cumming, the iconic Scottish actor who, it just so happens, was once eyed to play Lee in a narrative film about his life that never came to fruition.
Rather than shooting him in silhouette, as if Lee was a state's witness on the run from dangerous criminals, McLeod hired an actor to lip-sync these audio interviews, giving his words a face and a visual performance that proves deliciously clever. The opening title cards of My Old School explain he agreed to an audio interview but did not want his face shown on camera. While many of Lee's classmates were willing to appear on camera and share their memories of this '90s-era scandal, Lee required a caveat. Teasing McLeod, she laughs, "So you, you mug!" My Old School faces a unique obstacle with supreme savviness. As one classmate puts it, they weren't the only ones who were fooled by Lee. Perhaps because the director is one of them, there's a disarming lack of embarrassment and an enchanting jocularity to these interviewees. Alongside his old friends, McLeod sits before the camera, set against a backdrop of a classroom with dusty chalkboards and sturdy wooden desks, stepping through the story as they know it. Sure, you could Google what went down, but then you'd be missing out, because My Old School unfurls this story in a fascinating and deeply personal way: Director Jono McLeod was one of Lee's classmates.
#90s photo backdrop movie
Still, like in any American teen movie worth its hair gel, he made fast friends, rose through the ranks of popularity, and then - well, let's just say that when his secret came out, the whole town was thrown into tumult. From the very start, there was something different about Brandon Lee, who boasted a tragic backstory, dreamed of being a doctor, and relished '80s music. In 1993, a new student marched into the halls of a Scottish secondary school and joining a bunch of 16-year-olds in sex education classes, wild nights out, and even the school play. Despite its quaint title, My Old School proves to be just such a film, unfolding a collection of recollections from former classmates to depict a full, entertaining, and at times perturbing portrait of a Scottish scandal. No matter the subject, a great documentary can lure you in with its bizarre premise, then envelop you with its atmosphere, its heart, and its jaw-dropping revelations. Some of the best documentaries feature tales that are stranger than fiction, like the amputated foot at the center of Finders Keepers, the earnest competitiveness in Air Guitar Nation, or the mind-snapping twists of the true crime gem The Imposter.