not as interesting as it thinks it is. makes me happy i never lived in a small town bubble, i guess. also, who decided on the Tim & Moby/Your Favorite Martian animation style?

OMG I absolutely loved everything about this. It is a film I will never forget.

I was vaguely familiar with elements of this story but I was unprepared for both the bizarre and shocking deceptions and also just how entertaining it was. The former pupils and teachers are the real stars, with at times their caustic anecdotes and at others, their forgetfulness and "did that really happen moments". The central character would put Walter Mitty to shame, although at the end of the production I couldn't help but feel real sympathy for him. A funny, crazy, outlandish but touching tale of human frailities.

A reasonably interesting story with some good animations - some of the recollections by former pupils were entertaining but the whole thing went on and on and on and on. Fairly underwhelming on the whole.

A fascinating and unbelievable story and well delivered albeit a little lengthly for my liking.

This is an incredible story. Even more incredible are the kind hearts of those who had been had. See this.

A fascinating film in which the focus of the feature documentary, Brandon Lee, refuses to appear on camera, but allows the filmmaker, Jono McLeod, to use audio interviews he took with his school mate for the film. Visually the film is captivating. There are several twists and turns and I knew nothing about this scandal from the 1990's in Scotland. The less you know about the story the better. McLeod in the third act does something very interesting. He questions the story and uncovers further details. More fascinating is McLeod does this with the talking heads he interviewed for the film. He uncovers footage from their High School days and this brings up an entire set of questions. There are time the film hunkers down on a branch and stays there a bit too long, but overall this is an immersive and thought-provoking movie! Final Score: 8.3/10

This actually was my school! Several of my younger sibling's friends featured in the film. It was a story that truly was stranger than fiction and living through it as it happened and then seeing this film was bizarre. My mum recalls Brandon being in our living room at one point whilst attending school. I'll leave those with greater cinematic analysis skills to dissect the actual film. The most poignant bit for me was seeing the footage of Rector Norman McLeod and hearing the classmates reflecting on what Norman said to each of our year groups every single year without fail. I usually fall asleep in the cinema; was wide awake for this film. The film maker did a brilliant job at exploring purported fact, fiction and folklore. The classmates did themselves proud. Thanks for such a great film Jono.

A predictable, too-long exploration of a not-that-interesting true event.

that the way I like it

I am baffled by these positive reviews. This movie was TERRIBLE. It was way too long. A lot of the information they presented was irrelevant and went nowhere. About halfway through the documentary they actually started REPEATING numerous scenes! What the heck? For the subject matter, it could have been a quirky interesting 1 hour documentary but they stretched it into almost 2 hours.

The full story is not shocking once it is revealed but it is told in a very original way, with many laughs and opportunities for reflection. The combination of interviews, old photos, animation and video footage makes the movie more interesting than I expected. Alan Cumming does a great job as do all of the real life subjects. Well worth seeing.

Was so entertained by this stranger than fiction story. Brilliantly inventive story telling. best documentary ive seen in ages.

IN A NUTSHELL: It's funny, creepy, shocking, and entertaining at the same time. THINGS I LIKED: I've been a fan of Alan Cumming for many years, so his face on the movie poster caught my eye. I thought it was clever to use him to voice the real person who the story is about. Alan Cumming lip-syncs so well that you don't even realize it's not his voice. I loved the choice of using animation to show reenactments of events that occurred during the school years. The music of the band "Orange Juice" is featured in the movie's soundtrack. The lead singer, Edwyn Collins, was also a former student at Bearsden Academy, where the movie takes place. The rest of the soundtrack is really fun too. The school is somewhat famous because it was a frequent filming location for a sketch comedy show in Scotland called "Chewin the Fat". It was fun to meet some regular ole chaps from Scotland. It's the creative telling of the mysterious story that makes this documentary unique and compelling, complete with twists and turns. We get to see before and after pictures of all the people involved in the true tale. I wondered if we'd ever get to see pictures or videos of the real person this film was about and we do! THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: It's kind of amazing they could film a feature-film length of a movie with this story. Ultimately, it's a sad story. Some viewers may find it hard to understand those with thick Scottish accents. Even still, Americans are suckers for accents and will enjoy listening to the charming phrases we don't understand. TIPS FOR PARENTS: Some mild/Scottish profanity. Animated portrayal of bullying THEMES: Surviving high school Memories Truth Time Goals. You can see my full review on the Movie Review Mom YouTube channel.

The greatest 01 hour: and 44 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!