Film themes are somehow like London buses. There is no sign of one at all for ages, and then suddenly several arrive together. In this case, it’s the imposter syndrome which like cat-fishing, is hardly new, but has recently surfaced as the fascinating subject of new movies. So hot on the heels of Netflix’s Inventing Anna and The Tinder Swindler comes yet another too bizarre-to-believe story “My Old School.”
This one is a hybrid documentary and whilst the ‘imposter’ doesn’t want to be seen on the screen, it’s his words that Alan Cumming is very cleverly lipsyncing too. Not only is this a true story, but the writer/director Jono McLeod was actually a school classmate of ‘Brandon Lee’. The school being Bearsden Academy, a much sought-out secondary school in a posh suburb of Glasgow, Scotland and the year was 1993.
It was the first day of class and Year 5 had a new boy join them. Slightly odd, he was teased for having the same name as Bruce Lee’s son, also an actor, who had just recently died on a film set aged 28
Lee’s story was when his parents divorced, his father a Diplomat, remained in London, whilst he went to live with his mother, a very successful opera singer, in Canada. It was when she was tragically killed in a car accident Brandon landed up in his grandmother’s house on one of the shabbier streets in upscale Bearsden.
As the ‘new boy’ Brandon held back at first, but soon showed that academically he was very bright, and he made no secret that he wanted to study medicine at the University of Dundee next year. He also made an effort to befriend some of the less popular boys in his class like Stefen, one of the only Black pupils in the school, who was frequently bullied and subjected to racist abuse. Brandon also took Brian MacKinnon under his wing which didn’t seem an odd thing, until ‘Brandon’s true story came out, and MacKinnon unwittingly played a small part in it.
There is always a dilemma with us critics on where to draw the line in describing the details of a movie’s plot, and in this particular case, I want to draw it here. There is not an ounce of truth in ‘Brandon’s’ story but the sheer joy of watching it all unfold as he gets exposed is worth being kept in the dark. And if I actually told you some of the incredulous details you would struggle to accept them as true. This tale needs to be seen to be believed
Mcleod uses some really wonderful animation in part to help fill in gaps in the story when some of the original pupils and teachers were not available. Also, look out for the voices of actress Claire Crogan and Lulu one of Scotland’s most successful pop singers in the 1980s
Kudos to both Cumming for his thoroughly entertaining performance, but also to Mcleod for ingeniously drip-feeding the truth of this very compelling story to us and keeping us on the edge of our seats until the final credits
My Old School, a Magnolia Pictures, release is currently playing in US movie theaters
Review : Roger Walker-Dack
Editor in Chief : Queerguru
Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) and NLGJA The Association of LGBT
Journalists. and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributung Editor The Gay Uk & Contributor Edge Media
Former CEO and Menswear Designer of Roger Dack Ltd in the UK
one of the hardest-working journalists in the business' Michael Goff of Towleroad