‘My Old School’ Review: Alan Cumming stars as Brandon Lee
Reminiscing about past school years, teachers, and classmates is always an interesting conversation to have. The memories from this time can be the hilarious antics with our friends or the troubles of exams and deadlines. Director Jono McLeod exemplifies this in his documentary My Old School, as adults come together to share their time at Bearsden Academy in Scotland during the 1990s. One recurring addition to their memories is the arrival of a new pupil called Brandon Lee, whose time at the school cemented it in history.
My Old School tells the story of Brandon Lee and his effect on his classmates. The story is shown through the standard documentary technique of talking heads sharing memories, and some charming animation accompany the tales.
The former students featured as the talking heads are a delight to watch, bringing quality personality and humour to the documentary as they discuss their time in education with the inescapable Brandon Lee. They describe in just enough detail how Lee appeared to them at first, discussing how he was a little different in appearance from the rest of the class as he looked slightly older. There is also the coincidence of his name, given that he joined their class a month after the actor Brandon Lee was killed on the set of The Crow in a tragic accident.
The students also describe how Lee seemed a lot more advanced in knowledge of the curriculum, some going as far as to claim that he was ‘even teaching the teachers’. Alongside the talking heads of the students, actor Alan Cumming plays the role of Brandon Lee (as he refuses to appear on film) to share Lee’s side of the stories his former classmates give. The two sides are juxtaposed as the animation complements the tales. Teachers at the school also give their insight, discussing how Brandon immediately established himself as one of the brightest and most promising pupils at Bearside.
The story is built up intriguingly as the former pupils address how they became good friends with Brandon through studying together, parties, and Brandon’s popular performance in the school musical. The Daria-inspired animation brings this all together to portray the memories of each student.
Anyone familiar with the story of Brandon Lee from Bearsden Academy awaits the reveal of his bizarre secret as the story climaxes towards the reveal. Those unaware of the full details of the documentary’s case study are given the shocking twist at the height of the students’ friendship with Brandon, making the truth all the more upsetting. They are then introduced to news segment footage alongside the animation, as this new information is given to ruin the mood definitively.
My Old School tells its story through light-hearted humour, down-to-earth contributors, and a well-thought-out structure. It proposes many useful questions about the case of Brandon Lee that even the former students struggle to answer. The case details are held together and presented with quality exposition that keeps the audience engaged.
Those aware of Brandon Lee’s story should definitely give this documentary a watch. Anyone who has a taste for plot twists in real-life cases will also be satisfied by the documentary’s style and presentation.
