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"Confidentially?
Sophia Myles Is A Work
Of Art!" |
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Directed by Terry
Zwigoff - Written by
Daniel Clowes
Starring Max Minghella,
Sophia Myles, John
Malkovich, Jim Broadbent
Distributed by UA/Sony
Classics - 2006 -
102mins - Rated R |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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B- |
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What is art, anyway? |
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The latest offering
from the team of Terry Zwigoff and celebrated graphic artist Daniel
Clowes, "Art School Confidential" lampoons the often pretentious,
hypocritical and faux trendy art world in a film based upon a
four-page graphic story written by Clowes.
Zwigoff and Clowes, who first collaborated on "Ghost World," embellish
Clowes' graphic work in this film that never quite decides what it
wants to be and ends up feeling somewhat incomplete by the film's end.
Starring Max Minghella in his first lead role, the film's story
centers around Jerome, who declares at a young age that he wants to be
the greatest artist of the 21st century. Of course, his reasoning
isn't so much about artistry but because he wants to be famous and get
laid.
Jerome decides to attend Strathmore Art Institute, a decision based
largely upon the photo of a nude woman on their brochure. His first
day at the school, Jerome meets his two roommates, a guerilla
filmmaker (Ethan Suplee) and an effeminate fashion designer who talks
regularly about his girlfriend (Nick Swardson). His first class, with
Professor Sandiford (John Malkovich), is where he meets Bardo (Joel
David Moore). Bardo shares with him the stereotypical art students
that surround him including the Vegan, the angry lesbian, the kiss-up,
and others.
Into all of this mix is thrown the beautiful nude model (Sophia Myles)
with whom Jerome falls in "love," an undercover cop (Matt Keeslar)
and, in the film's runaway best performance, Jim Broadbent as a burned
out former Strathmore student and possibly serial killer.
Did I just say serial killer?
In a rather unnecessary, yet oddly amusing diversion, Zwigoff and
Clowes give us the side story of a serial killer known as the
"Strathmore Strangler." It's not so much that this storyline doesn't
work, but that it ultimately creates too many storylines that must be
neatly tied up by the film's end. As fans of Zwigoff will note, plot
and neatly tied up storylines have seldom been an integral part of
Zwigoff film and their presence here feels awkward and
inconsequential.
Fortunately, Broadbent's character becomes a significant player in the
serial killer storyline. Thus, an unnecessary diversion becomes an
entertaining and compelling one.
"Art School Confidential" is disappointing in that it asks the
audience to suspend belief, time and again, with very little payoff
for doing so. While one could hardly expect a nice, tidy romantic
comedy from a director such as Zwigoff, one could expect quirky and
unique. The potential relationship between Jerome and Audrey (Sophia
Myles) falls flat and never plays out to its full comic or dark
potential. Her attraction to another attractive, yet obviously "pop"
art student feels contrived and artificial. Much like her last film,
"Tristan & Isolde," Myles is again given little to do other than look
beautiful (not a particular challenge, especially given that nudity is
involved).
What did Zwigoff want to accomplish with this film? Was he hoping for
a satirical swipe at the world that often misinterprets his own films?
Was it an even funnier swipe at the very audience that often embraces
his films? Was it simply an observation, admittedly blunted, that the
art world and the commercial world make odd and incompatible
bedfellows?
Unfortunately, with the multi-tiered storylines, "Art School
Confidential" ends up feeling like much of Jerome's paintings...a
little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing.
Despite its immense flaws, however, "Art School Confidential" ends
up working more often than it should. This is largely due to the
character-driven direction of Zwigoff and the marvelous performance of
Minghella. Minghella makes his character an intriguing one by showing
touches of brilliances, flashes of insecurity, pieces of psychosis and
a darkly comic ability to bring them all to life, almost
simultaneously.
Likewise, as Professor Sandiford, Malkovich is sad, pathetic and
humorously perverted, while Joel David Moore banishes forever his
pathetic performance in "Grandma's Boy" with this consistently funny
performance of a young man who seems to know everything but ultimately
knows nothing. Additionally, Ethan Suplee is hilariously off-kilter as
the guerilla film-maker determined to make an action, romance,
thriller film based upon the "Strathmore Strangler," while Swardson's
closeted fashion designer is too under-written to make much of an
impression at all.
"Art School Confidential" ends up being the weakest of Zwigoff's
films, but still lands ahead of most films of a similar nature.
Zwigoff, in fact, may have ultimately fooled us all by creating the
very type of art he makes fun of throughout "Art School Confidential."
Its indecisive, out of focus, inconsistent, grounded upon too many
conformist ideas, and impossible to truly define, however, "Art School
Confidential" is still the kind of film you go home complaining about
but can't stop thinking about twenty-four hours later.
From any other director, "Art School Confidential" would likely be
praised as darkly comic and insightful. Coming from one of the masters
of darkly comic and insightful films, "Art School Confidential" is,
confidentially, a modestly entertaining film that doesn't quite live
up to the standards of Zwigoff's previous works.
A neat, tidy ending for a Zwigoff film? Hmmmm. Maybe art and commerce
really don't mix.
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© Written by Richard Propes -
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TC Candler's Comment
Gotta say
that I fell head over heels for Sophia Myles
this year (Tristan & Isolde - Art School
Confidential). Her films will be at the
top of my must-see list in the future.
Here, she helps elevate a hit and miss comedy
script that occasionally generates severe belly
laughs in and among scenes that fall rather
flat. I was also slightly confused by the
odd shift of tone near the end of the film.
However, this is an original screenplay that
deserves a look.
Jacob Hall's
Comment
n/a
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