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New: Clooney film bows at Venice with ovation
George Clooney stars in Jay Kelly, directed by Noah Baumbach, premiering at Venice with a 10 minute standing ovation.
Noah Baumbach directs George Clooney in Jay Kelly, premiering at Venice with a 10 minute ovation.
Clooney's Jay Kelly Draws 10 Minute Ovation At Venice
Noah Baumbach brings Jay Kelly to the Venice Film Festival for its world premiere. The gala screening in the Sala Grande drew a 10 minute ovation, and Clooney appeared on the red carpet with Adam Sandler and Laura Dern after a sinus infection kept him from the press conference earlier in the day. The film follows Clooney’s character, an actor who travels through Europe with his manager on a journey that tests fame, relationships, and the legacies they plan to leave behind. Emily Mortimer, Eve Hewson, Riley Keough, Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig, and Alba Rohrwacher are among the ensemble.
Deadline’s coverage highlights the movie’s tonal shift, noting that the film blends light comedy with poignant drama and strives to carve its own path in the movies-about-movies vein as it heads toward a Netflix-assisted release. Deadline’s review also quotes Clooney as delivering “some of his best screen acting” in a role built around the tension between performance and authenticity.
Key Takeaways
"Clooney does some of his best screen acting"
Deadline review praising Clooney's performance
"Effortlessly changes tone from light comic situations to poignant drama"
Pete Hammond on the film’s tonal balance
"We discovered soon that if you make a movie about an actor, you’re making a movie about identity and performance"
Baumbach on the film’s central idea
"This is cinema that asks who we are when the lights come up"
Editorial takeaway on the film’s theme
The premiere underlines a growing appetite in festival cinema for self reflective dramas that treat fame as a subject worthy of moral inquiry. Baumbach’s premise—an actor’s search for identity beyond the characters he plays—speaks to a broader cultural moment about how public personas are crafted and kept. The risk is that the meta approach becomes opaque or insular, potentially limiting appeal outside cinephile audiences. Still, the strong cast and clear festival energy create a strong sign that Jay Kelly could spark broader conversations about what makes a performer more than a brand.
Highlights
- Clooney does some of his best screen acting
- Effortlessly changes tone from light comic situations to poignant drama
- This is a movie about identity and performance
- This is cinema that asks who we are when the lights come up
Festival context carries potential backlash over meta premise
The film’s self reflective angle on fame could invite mixed reactions from audiences outside festival circles. If the meta approach feels insider or self important, it may limit broad appeal and invite backlash from critics skeptical of the movies about movies trope.
The festival roar will test how well the self questioning travels beyond Venice.
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