Review of Art School Confidential (2006) by Duncan R — 09 Jun 2009

Back in 2001, the pairing of graphic novel artist Daniel Clowes and film director Terry Zwigoff resulted into one of the decade's most peculiar, offbeat and compelling cartoon adaptations into cinematic form. Ghost World scored with both the public and critics, harvesting high praise first for its singular and complete vision of teenage angst and boredom-- it even drew solid comparisons to J. D. Salinger's beloved The Catcher in the Rye. It also goes without saying that Clowe's acid-tinged dialogue and Zwigoff's very focused direction were a lot of help in making those themes resonate. But beneath the dissection of certain feelings of alienation from living in a world filled with loud & superficial jerks, Ghost World had a subtle (if entirely adjacent) subtext about the nature and function of art through a second-tier plot that followed Enid's summer art classes. I feel this is where this Zwigoff film adaptation of Clowe's Art School Confidential tries to echo certain statements that weren't really given the spotlight in Ghost World-- I also feel, frankly, that both artists thought that ''whatever we did that worked so well before, we'll do it again and it should work again''.

It doesn't work so well now.

If there are more than enough great bits and pieces scattered all across Art School Confidential to secure a relevant and somewhat successful piece of work, it's hard not to notice its several big flaws first. Unlike Ghost World, which settled mostly for stylistic homogeneity but nevertheless offered plenty of nuances, Zwigoff's latest has trouble setting the right tone for a lot of its running time. At times startling and sour, then morbid, then sweet and then incisive, the picture never quite knows what approach to take as it handles its numerous characters and their respective subjects. There is an unflattering portrait of the U.S. slowly sketched, there is a love story, there is a satire of the dynamics of art classes, there is a campus murders subplot... and none of these come across as satisfying explorations on their own. Worse even, the narrative is dangerously episodic and it does lack cohesion, something a good black comedy can't really afford.

If the screenplay as a whole does not hang together very well, there remains bright spots here and there than surely do justice to the graphic novel. Enough cruel punchlines spice up the story, and the way these 'deflated' characters that have abandoned all kinds of illusions interact often proves to be more than interesting; the dialogue alternates between sharp and flat with an enjoyable sort of detachment. Zwigoff's direction is intentionally dodgy and snide (watch the how the backgrounds play their own scenes as the ones in front are in focus), but his camera too often telegraphs plot elements that might have been better had they been left as surprises. The set design, however, is lovingly textured and full of cool touches, and as weird as it might sound, it's enough to give it all some visual depth. Always, always good for a cartoon.

Depth : something that Art School Confidential might lack in terms of character development. Max Minghella's Jerome Platz might cover an interesting arc, but I never really bought into his or several of his co-stars' reality. It's as if Zwigoff hadn't really figured if he spoke about his characters or through them. The cast cannot be blamed, though : Minghella himself is very good, slowly revealing an intriguing interiority of Platz with surprising subtlety for a newcomer. Sophia Myles is a natural as love interest Audrey, but it is a shame she is stuck to play such a cypher. Veterans Malkovich and Huston bring an interesting humanity to two largely functional 'indifferent teacher' roles, and Joel David Moore is definitely credible as the sleazy dropout friend. The only unpleasant performers here, surprisingly, are the talented Jim Broadbent and Ethan Suplee, often pushing their line-reading towards broad caricature and doing nothing to make their personas three-dimensional.

Art School Confidential is a dissapointment, that's for sure, but I feel there are enough inspired stretches, serious cackles and worthy shots on some targets (notably art dealers) to not dismiss it. But all this finger-pointing and disgruntled narrativity leaves the film more diluted and smug and anything else. I still wish for a third Clowes/Zwigoff collaboration, that's for sure, but maybe they should tone down the mockery and polish the movie underneath a bit more. Some edges are too rough.