Art School Confidential
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Metascore
54 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 32 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Starring: John Malkovich, Max Minghella, Sophia Myles
  • Summary: 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)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 30
  3. Negative: 4 out of 30
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    There is a wise and understanding teacher on the faculty, played by Anjelica Huston. Defending the work of Dead White Males, she sensibly observes that when they did their best work "they weren't dead yet."
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    75
    The movie sputters in its later, darker passages, which by design are less audience-friendly than the earlier, satirically secure ones.
  3. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    58
    Succeeds only in fits and starts.
  4. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    38
    Art School Confidential, the first disappointment from director Terry Zwigoff, is all glum, dour cynicism.

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 21
  3. Negative: 4 out of 21
  1. SamB.
    10
    This is a nasty little gem that skewers the grad/art school pretensions that a lot of knucklehead sycophants wrap their heads around, the only reason why it's getting such low scores is because it calls a lot of so called experts on their credentials and they're severly butt-hurt over it.… Expand
  2. JH
    8
    This is a terrific movie. It is funny, smart, and the acting and directing are wonderful. Rent this!
  3. ChadS.
    7
    Jerome's hero is Pablo Picasso, so surely, there is an awareness on his part of the dead white artist's famous observation that "good artists borrow; great artists steal." "Art School Confidential" is such a sour film; even its happy ending is laced with cynicism, as Jerome's deliberate misinterpretation of Picasso's quote brings him both, personal and professional successes. The filmmaker's potshots towards art school and its banalities are screamingly funny, but at the expense of humanity(this film is for misanthropes). Chip Kidd's novel "The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters" had both, the sling and the arrow, and its concentration was in art. "Art School Confidential", ultimately, is actually about film; more to the point, about genres and context. I wonder if the makers of "Brick" were inspired by this film.… Expand
  4. PabloP.
    4
    only see this film if you've been to art school. you'll be able to relate with some of the situations. everyone else should chose another film to see.… Expand

See all 21 User Reviews

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