My Old School: Interesting BBC documentary about 32-year-old Brian MacKinnon who convinced his peers he was 17
Do you know about a man named Brandon Lee who got encircled in a scandal in Scotland that created a furor in the country? From enrolling himself at high school at the age of 30 to presenting documents with fake parental connections, this documentary dives into the life of Brian MacKinnon who bluffs everyone as Brandon Lee.
Have a look at interesting details here.
My Old School: An Introduction
Talking about the basics, My Old School is a 2022 documentary directed by Jono McLeod. The storyline is based on the Brandon Lee scandal. For those who are completely unaware of this scandal, we have a scoop of details for you. In 1995, it came to light that a person named Brandon Lee, who had enrolled as a fifth-year student at Bearsden Academy secondary school in Bearsden, Scotland, had been a 30-year-old former student, Brian MacKinnon, posing as a 17-year-old. This story grabbed widespread sensational headlines at that time.
Is director Jono Mcleod a friend of ‘real’ Brian MacKinnon?
According to a report published in BBC Scotland, McLeod, the film's director, was one of MacKinnon's peers at Bearsden Academy.
Talking about the film, McLeod narrated that he made the film by using audio clips and interviews of MacKinnon. Though he requested MacKinnon to play the lead role in the film himself, he denied the request, following which popular actor Alan Cumming was roped in to play the lead role.
What does Jono Mcleod think about his friend Brian MacKinnon?
McLeod, as reported by BBC Scotland, said, “I do not think Brandon meant to do any harm” and added that he has interviewed other classmates and teachers for the film who agree with the same.
"A lot of people in the class have their take on what Brandon did but for the most part they have a fondness for him," he said, as per BBC.
"I know that's not across the board. The film is not a take-down of him but I don't agree with all the decisions that he made back then," My Old School director said, as per BBC.
The report further highlighted that McLeod found the new kid from Canada a "bit of a geek" when he first arrived but later become pretty popular - even starring in a stage production of South Pacific.
He told BBC Scotland that “Brandon agreed to tell him his story but didn't want to be seen on camera.” So, in the film, the dialogues are delivered by Brian while onscreen, it appears that Alan is lipsyncing the dialogues.
Brian MacKinnon and his ‘fake’ depiction of family life
In an interview with BBC Scotland, MacKinnon elaborated how he had enrolled at the high school at the age of 30 by presenting two items of "bogus documentation". “These were a false letter from his father - who he claimed was a professor - and another from a tutor in Canada,” MacKinnon said to the BBC.
Talking about his mother, Brandon claimed she was an opera singer who was touring the world. Knowing her busy and tightly wrapped schedules, Brandon opted to return to Scotland from Canada to live with his ailing grandmother.
Recalling his ‘nerve-wracking experience’ while entering the premises of the high school on Day 1, Mackinnon, as per BBC, said, “I was aware of the fact that at any moment a question could arise that I couldn't answer, I might be asked for a birth certificate, but I wasn't.”
"I simply kept my head down, looked shy and boyish and that's all I could do - and it presented no problems at all," he said.
Did director Jono Mcleod know that Brandon Lee was an imposter of Brian MacKinnon?
The BBC highlighted what the film's director always felt when he gets asked about this question per se. The filmmaker narrated that oftentimes, he gets asked by his peers how he did not know that Brandon was an imposter at the time.
"It is everyone's nightmare to wake up at 30 years old and be back at school, so why would anyone choose to place themselves in that situation?" he said, reported BBC.
Where can the film be viewed?
The film can be viewed on Amazon Prime as well as Apple iTunes anytime. The documentary was released on July 22, 2022, in the United States and was distributed by Magnolia Pictures. Before release in the entire US, this documentary was first premiered in January at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
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