Art School Confidential (2006)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Terry Zwigoff

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Clowes (screenplay)
Daniel Clowes (comic story)

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (Poland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Who said anything about talent?

Plot:

Starting from childhood attempts at illustration, the protagonist pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.

Plot Keywords:

Drawing | Strangler | New York City | Art School | Dinner Scene

Cast

Max Minghella	...	Jerome
Sophia Myles	...	Audrey
John Malkovich	...	Professor Sandiford
Jim Broadbent	...	Jimmy
Matt Keeslar	...	Jonah
Ethan Suplee	...	Vince
Joel Moore	...	Bardo (as Joel David Moore)
Nick Swardson	...	Matthew
Anjelica Huston	...	Art History Teacher
Adam Scott	...	Marvin Bushmiller
Jack Ong	...	Professor Okamura
Scoot McNairy	...	Army-Jacket
Jeremy Guskin	...	Eno
Monika Ramnath	...	Flower
Isaac Laskin	...	Kiss-Ass

MPAA:

Rated R for language including sexual references, nudity and a scene of violence.

Runtime:

USA:102 min | 102 min (Sundance Film Festival) | Argentina:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | USA:R (certificate #41649) | Australia:MA | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Communications Building, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

The art college in the movie is based on the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. According the published screenplay, the minimalist paintings Jonah brings to class were painted by author Daniel Clowes when he was a student at the Pratt Institute.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jerome visits Professor Sandiford, Sandiford is smoking a cigarette that disappears and reappears between shots.

Quotes:

Professor Sandiford: Now, everyone don't be so hard on Jerome. He is attempting to achieve the impossible. He is trying to sing in his own voice using someone else's vocal cords.

Movie Connections:

References Butterscotch and Soda (1948)

Soundtrack:

Pure Imagination

To everyone who thinks it turned dark...

I think that those who felt the movie started as an excellent parody of art schools but then failed by turning dark, you've missed the point. By turning dark, you start to fear for the main character only to be confronted by the fact that the art world is so ridiculous, it will laud anyone for the most insane reasons. Jerome's art was considered boring until he wasn't. It's not that the movie turned dark...it had to go in that direction to reach the ultimate parody.

As someone who is regularly disappointed by what passes for art today, it was refreshing to see this confronted in such an open arena. It's a disappointment that people without skills have succeeded-- and that art is the only discipline where professors are afraid to give out poor grades. I certainly experienced this in my art days. Students who put in the effort and failed to complete the requirements would still receive a good grade because they'd put in the effort.

This film is fantastic because it goes to the extreme to comment on art today.