Search The Archive
Animation, Alan Cumming and an academic hoax come together in this stranger-than-fiction documentary about an infamous Scottish scandal.
Think of the craziest story you’ve got from your teenage years. Did it make international news? Because this one did. My Old School recounts how one person by the name of Brandon Lee fooled his classroom for a year. A Canadian blow-in at Scotland’s prestigious Bearsden Academy, Lee knew everything about medicine and science, made wise-beyond-his-years observations about literature, and was the star of the school play. But this now-notorious impostor wasn’t who he said he was.
If you think true-crime documentaries have become tired and stale, Jono McLeod’s feature debut might just be your antidote. Infused with the you-won’t-believe-this-is-real audacity of Three Identical Strangers (MIFF 2018), this wildly entertaining biography doesn’t take itself too seriously despite discussing some serious topics. With animation that recalls the Daria cartoons of its 1990s setting, plus Cumming lip-syncing for his life to audio recordings of the real Brandon Lee, My Old School will make you question every person who walked your high school halls.
“Whether you know the truth going in or not, My Old School is a hugely entertaining charmer … [and] an exercise in filmmaking ingenuity.” – The Film Stage
