Art School Confidential

Art School Confidential follows talented young artist Jerome Platz (Minghella) as he escapes from high school to a tiny East Coast art school. Here the boyish freshman's ambition is to become the world's greatest artist. (Sony Pictures Classics) Plot Starting from childhood attempts at illustration, young Jerome (Max Minghella) pursues his true obsession to art school. Jerome enrolls in Strathmore, an urban college. His roommates include aspiring film maker, Vince (Ethan Suplee), and closeted-gay fashion major Matthew (Nick Swardson). Jerome looks for love amongst the coeds, but is turned off by them all, before falling in love with the art model, Audrey (Sophia Myles). In his art classes, he forms a friendship with perennial loser, Bardo (Joel Moore), who guides him through the college scene and introduces him to a failed artist, Jimmy (Jim Broadbent), a belligerent drunk. As Jerome learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him. The community has been wracked by a serial killer, the Strathmore Strangler, who has confounded the police. As Jerome slowly loses his idealism at art school, he finds himself In competition with a strange newcomer, Jonah (Matt Keeslar) (an undercover detective), both for Audrey's affection and for artistic recognition. In a wild attempt to win a prestigious art competition, Jerome asks for, and gets, Jimmy's paintings, all of which are of the Strangler's victims. Jerome leaves a lit cigarette in Jimmy's apartment by accident, setting a fire and burning up the apartment and Jimmy. The police arrest Jerome as the Strangler (who in fact was Jimmy); Audrey realizes that her true love is Jerome and that she was stupid to be in love with Jonah (who is actually married); and Jerome is sent to prison. Jerome's paintings, especially one of Audrey, become prized by collectors; Vince scores a huge hit with his documentary of the Strangler called My Roommate: The Murderer. In prison, Jerome continues to paint and sells his works at high prices, not caring that people think he is the killer, while all the while Audrey is still in love with him. At the end, Audrey and Jerome share a kiss through the protective glass.

I'm not trying to start an observational argument here, but we are little more than the result of our experiences. They dictate our behavior and our reactions to the world. The movie Art School Confidential is a good example of how we bring both our experiences in life and our familiarity with the art of movies to viewing a film. With this movie, by experiences as a film fan created certain expectations for the film, but my lack of familiarity with the subject matter created some confusion. The result was a disappointing movie The other question intimidating over Art School Confidential is, "Is this what art school is really like?" As someone who knows little to nothing about art school, I felt that much of the film was like an in-joke to which I wasn't concealed. We all know that art students can be somewhat offbeat and that artists are competitive...and is that it? Or would I have had to attended art school to find any more humor here?