Carl Roberts 
“Jay Kelly is one of those films that make us laugh while also forcing us to look within. George Clooney delivers an Oscar-worthy performance.”
Releasing in select cinemas this Friday, before hitting Netflix in December, is the comedy-drama Jay Kelly. The film is directed by Noah Baumbach, who also wrote the screenplay with the actress Emily Mortimer. It features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Billy Crudup. Clooney plays the title character, a famous actor. The story follows him and his manager (Sandler) as they travel through Europe. They reflect on their life choices, relationships, and legacies. With some cutting wit and a look behind the legend of the famous actor, it presents deep, emotional drama. Can the film become one we look back on fondly when it ends? Or should the film have been allowed to fade into obscurity?
PREMISE
JAY KELLY, the new film from Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach, follows famous movie actor, Jay Kelly (George Clooney), as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler). Poignant and humour-filled, epic and intimate, JAY KELLY is pitched at the intersection of life’s regrets and notable glories.
THOUGHTS
The film is marvellous. With terrific comedy, moving emotional weight, superb drama, and a final line that devastates the audience, the film is exceptional. Featuring excellent performances from the principal cast, the film is one of the year’s best. From the very start to the end, the film never fails to hold our attention, taking us through the life of an actor who believes everyone around him loves him, unaware that they don’t. His life has become theirs; their lives rotate around his, destroying their own happiness.
It is an often sad tale that has us engrossed as we watch these lives, these worlds, slowly crumble around them. While we enjoy the lighter moments, we suddenly see behind the veil and witness that fame and fortune don’t mean happiness. We also know the realisation that slowly dawns on all involved. It is all smoke and mirrors, something that Hollywood is masterful at.
GEORGE CLOONEY
George Clooney gives what may be his best-ever performance as Jay Kelly. The actor, so often so lovable and engaging, again makes us fall in love with his character. However, as the layers are slowly revealed, we find a deeply flawed man, someone with his own wants and needs. Someone who has sacrificed his family, especially his children, in his pursuit of global superstardom. His children want almost nothing to do with him, with his youngest daughter, Daisy (Grace Edwards), refusing to let him accompany her on a vacation to Italy.
His eldest daughter, Jessica (Riley Keough), has only a fleeting relationship with her father, if you can call it that. Jessica is a schoolteacher who lives on the other side of the country, far from her father and his life. Her resentment of her father is manifested in her sessions with a therapist, showing us how his fame has affected her relationship and life with her famous dad. In the same way, Jay’s relationship with his own father (Stacy Keach) followed a similar path years earlier. The sins of the father affect the son, while the son’s sins affect his own family.
AN INCOMING ACADEMY AWARD?
While Jay lives in luxury in his mansion, others around him are suffering in their attempts to keep him happy, relevant, and a moneymaker. But even they don’t see the hidden pain Jay is carrying, his desire to do what he wants rather than be shoehorned into what they want for him in his career. When he begins to go his own way, they have to scramble to accommodate his wishes at the expense of their own relationships.
Clooney plays his character in a way that makes us love him while also feeling for him and those around him. This could be Clooney’s next shot at a Best Actor Academy Award, one that he deserves, or at the very least, a nomination. The film hinges entirely on his performance, and Clooney never lets the film or his supporting cast down.
ADAM SANDLER
Adam Sandler portrays Ron, Jay’s manager. The actor, so often known for his comedy work, delivers an incredible dramatic performance here. Ron tries to keep Jay relevant, to keep him gainfully employed and on the straight and narrow. Ron seems to know that fame can be fleeting at every turn, which keeps him on his toes regarding Jay. But even he has suffered under the weight of being in Jay’s orbit. Although he is married with children, Ron lost an essential relationship with Liz, Jay’s publicist (a superb Laura Dern), in the past. The heartbreaking revelation Liz delivers to him as she leaves for America demonstrates how being Jay’s manager and best friend has affected Ron’s life and path. Instead of what could have been, it becomes what should have been.
Over the course of the film, friendship slowly turns into resentment. Ron slowly realises that his life has been seriously affected and hampered by being in Jay’s orbit. While he shows no outward signs of his growing resentment, inside, he is building towards an inevitable, life-changing decision. Sandler is superb in his role, delivering a performance that we really shouldn’t be surprised he can give. While some signs of the comedian remain, here Sandler provides a down-to-earth, human, and emotional performance, one that sticks with us after the film ends.
DIRECTION AND WRITING
The direction by Noah Baumbach is assured. Every aspect of the story is filmed to almost perfection. Baumbach shows the behind-the-scenes of making a movie brilliantly. He films the scenes in the California sunshine and the final third in Tuscany in brilliant colour, showing the beauty of his locations to their fullest. The direction he gives and the performances he elicits from his cast are exemplary. Far from being glossy, Baumbach makes the locations shine, almost as if they were a member of the cast, which, in theory, you can say they are. Having shot the movie on 35mm film, courtesy of Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren, the film just looks and feels right.
The screenplay by Baubach and Emily Mortimer, who cameos as Candy, is worthy of at least a nomination or two. Between the pair, they have created a rich, funny, moving, emotional, and sad movie that, again, is one of the year’s best. By showing Jay’s backstory before he became famous, with Clooney looking back over his past and observing his younger self (played by Charlie Rowe), the pair have crafted a fully realised, well-thought-out tale. By adding in Timothy, Jay’s acting buddy, who didn’t have his big break (Billy Crudup), setting in motion the journey Jay undertakes, the pair show they have fleshed out a story which they have honed and crafted to its fullest potential. One that will hit us hard by the end credits.
VERDICT
Jay Kelly is one of those films that make us laugh while also forcing us to look within. George Clooney delivers an Oscar-worthy performance. Whether he gets an Oscar for it or not, we will have to wait and see. However, the film deserves nominations across various categories, from Best Supporting Actor to production design, music, and screenplay. It hits us from all sides over the 132-minute runtime, delivering a rollercoaster of emotions. Even the brief appearance of Jim Broadbent as Peter Schneider, a recently deceased director who gave Jay his big break, sticks with us after the film ends. Add in an all too brief but often hilarious appearance from Patrick Wilson, and the film shines.
By the time the credits roll, we find ourselves stunned. The final sequence, featuring a tribute to Jay in Tuscany, is heartbreaking. Clooney’s fourth wall-breaking final statement to the camera hits us like a sledgehammer. We feel it is coming, but it still slams into us like a train. Jay finally realises what he has lost, and this realisation devastates him and us. It dawns on us that we have been watching the destruction of a man’s perfectly constructed world and life —one we thought we would love to have —but also knowing we could never make the same mistakes and sacrifices Jay has made. His final statement brings home to us that life isn’t a rehearsal. This is superior movie entertainment from start to finish. Please do yourself a favour: Give it a shot.
Jay Kelly is in select cinemas from Friday, and on Netflix on December 5th.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
