Aahana Swrup
Directed by Noah Baumbach, Netflix’s ‘Jay Kelly’ presents an emotionally charged narrative about self-discovery in the face of achievements and regrets. The story revolves around the titular movie star who has solidified a memorable legacy for himself in his decades-spanning career. However, the death of a dear friend and collaborator pushes the older actor to reckon with the reality of his life and every choice, good or bad, that has shaped his career and personal relationships. As a result, Jay Kelly finds himself embarking on a whirlwind trip across Europe, chasing after both fame and his family. Beside him, the actor has his long-suffering manager and close friend, Ron Sukenick, and an entourage who are as fascinated by his artistry as they’re exhausted by his whims. As the beloved actor makes his way to a Tuscany film festival for a tribute, his narrative touches upon intimate yet universally relatable themes, including the reality of embracing the choices one has made throughout their life.
Jay Kelly Talks About the Inevitable Trade-Offs One Makes in Life
‘Jay Kelly’ centers around the life and career of a movie star who is at a place where he has to reckon with his past and accept it, warts and all. The narrative itself remains inherently limited in its perspective and characterization. Yet, the way the film interacts with the thematic aspects of Jay Kelly’s storyline offers an emotional exploration that proves to be widely relatable and resonant. Therefore, even though neither the film nor its namesake character is based on any real-life inspirations, both manage to achieve a level of realistic authenticity. For the most part, any seeds of realistic, even if indirect, inspiration behind the film stem from the experiences and perception of director Noah Baumbach and his co-writer Emily Mortimer.
For much of his career as a filmmaker, Baumbach has made largely fictional films that have held deep resonance in his own life. As such, he reportedly prefers to think of his work as personal and not biographical. This shines through in the narrative of ‘Jay Kelly’ as well, wherein the filmmaker uses the fictional actor’s story to explore the daunting themes of mortality and life’s trade-offs. In the film, Jay constantly struggles with the push and pull between his fame and his personal life. While he’s a celebrated actor, beloved by many and drowning in industry accolades, his personal life leaves much to be desired. He has a lukewarm, if not hostile, relationship with his two daughters, and his old friends can barely recognize him anymore.
Yet, Jay has the ability to steal the beguiled attention of every single passenger the minute he steps on a train carriage. The film emphasizes how all these outcomes are a result of a lifetime of intentional choices made to pursue one ambition at the cost of another. In doing so, the story brings forth an unfortunate but universally resonant reality of life, where any celebration comes with an equal and opposite potential for regret. In a conversation with The Observer, Baumbach spoke about his own relationship with the same idea and whether it translated onto the on-screen protagonist’s characterization. The filmmaker said, “No. I mean, yes and no. I don’t feel like Jay Kelly at all, but no matter what, there are trade-offs and things that we are…Choosing anything means not choosing something else.”
Part of Baumbach’s Experiences are Reflected in Jay Kelly’s Story
Even though ‘Jay Kelly’ is entirely a work of fiction, there are moments in the titular character’s narrative that hold some resemblance to Noah Baumbach’s life. For instance, although Jay’s past marriages aren’t a central storyline in the film itself, their influence and impact on the actor’s personal life remain evident throughout the story. In real life, Baumbach has also dealt with the reality of divorce, a topic he previously explored in his 2019 film’ Marriage Story.’ For Jay, the aftershocks of divorce are most presently felt through his strained relationship with his eldest daughter, Jessica.
Alternatively, another significant thematic aspect of the relationship between the father and daughter emerges from the latter’s feelings of neglect and abandonment caused by Jay’s decision to prioritize his career. As such, part of Jessica’s influence on her father’s story pens a tale about the difficulties of having a celebrity parent, whose art ends up taking precedence over his interpersonal relationships. This is another topic that Baumbach, the son of creative parents, has explored in his filmography, notably in the 2017 film ‘The Meyerowitz Stories.’ All these themes, which have some real-life relevance to the filmmaker, end up making their way into Jay’s on-screen narrative, adding depth and authenticity ot his story. Therefore, even though the character isn’t based on Baumbach or his life story, he becomes a vessel for the exploration of deeply personal and relatable topics.
Jay Kelly is a Fictional Character Expertly Brought to Life by George Clooney
Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer penned ‘Jay Kelly’ with a fictitious protagonist at the forefront. Even so, the filmmaking duo knew there were only a few people who could step into the role. Jay’s character is introduced in the story as a movie star who has already achieved great success in his career. Even though the narrative dips its toes in his origin story, it isn’t necessarily the focus of the film. Therefore, to understand the gravity of the protagonist’s career as an actor, Baumbach knew he would need an actor with a pre-existing relationship with the audience to instantly captivate them in Jay’s narrative.
Naturally, the beloved Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney proved to be the perfect fit. Elaborating upon the same in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Baumbach said. “Well, I mean, it’s (the film) not about George Clooney. George Clooney is playing a movie star, and that was sort of built into the idea. At a certain point, when Emily Mortimer and I were writing it, we kind of knew it needed a movie star to play the movie star, because the audience needed to feel a history with the character they’re watching in the same way the people in the movie feel with the character. It wouldn’t feel the same way otherwise.”
Similarly, despite sharing a similar career with Jay, Clooney himself found it to be a bit of a challenge to step into this role, due to the vast differences between his and the character’s personal lives. Yet, even though Jay is a fictional element within a fictional story, his character remains realistic in more ways than one. For instance, the story reveals that the actor was discovered after he accompanied his friend to an audition, where he read lines opposite the latter. Even though it wasn’t his audition, he managed to catch the eye of the filmmaker, landing himself his first role.
Over the years, many real-life actors have shared similar stories about their career discoveries or breakthroughs. For instance, Harrison Ford landed the iconic Han Solo role in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise by assisting George Lucas during the film’s auditions, wherein he fed the auditioning actors their lines, oftentimes playing Solo’s part in the scenes. Similarly, Susan Sarandon landed her breakout role in ‘Joe’ after accompanying her then-husband, Chris Sarandon, to his audition. Ultimately, these character-building tidbits, paired with the more emotionally stirring parts of his characterization, shape Jay Kelly into a realistic protagonist.
Read More: Where Was Jay Kelly Filmed? All Shooting Locations
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