Art School Confidential

At first humorous, this film becomes cynical and depressing | Gene Edward Veith

The so-called "art world," as social chronicler Tom Wolfe has pointed out, is not so much a world as a small town, a few thousand people who set the artistic fashions for the rest of civilization. That small town is animated with cliques, social climbing, vicious politics, and raw greed. It is populated with bohemians, posers, and wealthy hangers-on. In this climate, gifted artists are often at a disadvantage.

Art School Confidential (rated R for art-model nudity and bad language) is a satire on the contemporary art scene that is at first humorous and entertaining, but ends up cynical and depressing.

We first see the artistic Jerome (Max Minghella) as a little kid getting beat up at school. Next we see him as the nerdy high-school kid. He applies for college at a New York art school, where he hopes to launch his ambition to be the greatest artist of the 21st century.