Serena Seghedoni
Loud and Clear Reviews
Jul 20, 2023
3.5/5
It’s in its thoughtful analysis of humanity’s hopes and fears that McLeod‘s documentary excels, using its “unimaginable” story to tackle universal struggles and anxieties.
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Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
Jan 20, 2023
4/5
The film achieves a Rashomon-like complexity of viewpoint, although it’s a lot funnier than Kurosawa’s classic film. It’s partly the Scottish sense of humour, so rich in its understanding of human frailty.
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Graeme Tuckett
The Post NZ
Jan 19, 2023
4/5
McLeod reveals some astonishing discrepancies between how the former classmates collectively remember events -- and what actually happened.
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Stephen A. Russell
ABC News (Australia)
Jan 19, 2023
Go in knowing as little as possible... absolutely trippy... go see!
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Andrew F. Peirce
The Curb
Jan 12, 2023
At 104 minutes long, My Old School is a fluffy and frictionless film that lacks any real heft to make it a substantially entertaining and engaging endeavour.
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Nadine Whitney
FILMINK (Australia)
Jan 6, 2023
15/20
… certainly interesting, and Cumming does a wonderful job …
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Alison Rowat
The Herald (Scotland)
Dec 20, 2022
Lee was interviewed but refused to be filmed for the documentary. Instead, in what turns out to be a blessing, Alan Cumming lip syncs his words as only Cumming can.
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Michael J. Casey
Boulder Weekly
Nov 30, 2022
4/5
Some things you gotta see to believe—especially when they’re true.
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Cate Young
Thirty, Flirty + Film
Nov 19, 2022
"The real hook here is the collective memory of this unique class of schoolmates, and how the experience shaped their lives. It’s kooky, funny, and endlessly enjoyable."
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Dallas King
Outtake Mag
Nov 13, 2022
5/5
This documentary will have you shocked, stunned and sniggering like you used to at the back of the classroom. My Old School gets top marks. A class act.
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Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
Nov 1, 2022
2/5
…My Old School aims to elicit a warm glow of nostalgia for schooldays, but the mean-spirited untruths featured here credit Brian McKinnon at the expense of his teachers and classmates…
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Carla Hay
Culture Mix
Sep 25, 2022
With whimsical animation and compelling interviews, the documentary My Old School tells the strange-but-true story of an unusual student who enrolled in Scotland's Bearsden Academy in 1993. It's a bittersweet tale of deception, denial, and broken dreams.
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Chris Wasser
Sunday Independent (Ireland)
Aug 25, 2022
4/5
A series of playful animated reconstructions are employed throughout, and the great Alan Cumming delivers a tricky yet effective lip-synch over audio recordings with the real-life swindler. In a word? Unmissable.
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Tom Shone
Sunday Times (UK)
Aug 22, 2022
3/5
Asked to reconcile this with his fraud, he [Brian MacKinnon] responds: "All I can say is, what is a person?" It's the question beating at the heart of this light-hearted but engrossing film.
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Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
Aug 21, 2022
4/5
It’s a fascinating story that starts as an affable, strange-but-true tall tale but ends in a decidedly minor key.
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Andy Lea
Daily Express (UK)
Aug 20, 2022
5/5
[An] engrossing, thoughtful, touching and frequently funny documentary...
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Cory Woodroof
Nashville Scene
Aug 20, 2022
The documentary always finds the most riveting points in the story to fixate on, allowing us to see through Brian/Brandon’s eyes and through the eyes of those who were fooled. Everyone gets their day in court.
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Paul Whitington
Irish Independent
Aug 19, 2022
4/5
Using animations to bring to life 1990s classroom life, My Old School paints a vivid picture of a remarkable story.
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Kevin Maher
The Times (UK)
Aug 19, 2022
4/5
A labyrinthine network of self-deception, snobbery and megalomania as MacKinnon’s antiseptic arrogance creeps through...
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Ryan Syrek
The Reader (Omaha, NE)
Aug 19, 2022
C+
Some stories are best savored, gently rolled in the mouth like hard (brain) candy, until the last bits of flavor become taste ghosts. Others are just really baller Wikipedia entries. “My Old School” is more of the latter than the former.
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