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This Is Why George Clooney's New Film Has Already Got Critics Talking

This Is Why George Clooney's New Film Has Already Got Critics Talking

George Clooney as seen in Jay Kelly George Clooney ’s new movie premiered at Venice Film Festival this week, and critics think it might just be one of the best performances of his career. The two-time Academy Award winner stars in Jay Kelly, the new film from director Noah Baumbach, in a cast that also includes Adam Sandler , Laura Dern , Emily Mortimer and Barbie director and Noah’s wife, Greta Gerwig . The movie centres around a famous Hollywood actor who embarks on a journey through Europe with his manager as they confront their life choices and look back on the legacy they’ve created. Many critics have interpreted the Gravity star’s role in Jay Kelly as a meta-commentary on his own career, with reviewers calling it one of his finest performances to date that is already generating Oscar buzz. Others are less convinced by the film, claiming it’s a bit unoriginal and maybe a tad self-indulgent. Here’s what the reviews have to say so far… The Times (4/5) “Oscar alert! George Clooney’s best performance ever… The star gives an award-worthy turn as an ageing Hollywood A-lister suffering a midlife crisis in Noah Baumbach’s movie, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.” The Telegraph (5/5) “ George Clooney’s midlife crisis masterpiece will reduce you to tears… Is Clooney playing himself in Jay Kelly? Perhaps – and that’s exactly what makes this probe into movie-stardom so compelling.” George Clooney in Jay Kelly with co-stars Laura Dern and Adam Sandler Vulture “This is the role of a lifetime, on many levels. And he delivers the performance of his life.” Deadline “Manages to find its own identity in the movies-about-movies genre, making it fresh, smart and quite welcome.” TheWrap “George Clooney is damn good at playing a pampered movie star… Noah Baumbach is back to nailing that tricky balance with a film that moves like a comedy but has a lot on its mind.” Little White Lies “Noah Baumbach’s new dramedy isn’t breaking new ground, but it’s a charming, wistful take on what lies beneath the myth of celebrity.” Variety “Lightly diverting but overly soft inside-Hollywood drama… as much as I enjoyed a lot of Jay Kelly, on some level I didn’t buy it.” IndieWire (B-) “There’s no use in faulting Clooney for his performance, as no one does Clooney better… Alas, his ineffable Clooney-ness also has the perverse effect of making Jay Kelly less convincing at the same time, at least so far as its lead character is being played by a man who makes all of his foibles that much harder to believe.” Radio Times (3/5) “George Clooney’s latest is glossy and navel-gazing – but Adam Sandler excels…The desired effect, for us to feel for [George Clooney’s] character mid-crisis, never quite works.” The Hollywood Reporter “George Clooney plays the movie star but Adam Sandler shines brightest in Noah Baumbach’s sentimental comedy-drama…There’s pleasure to be had from Sandler’s nuanced work and from the ensemble’s ridiculously deep bench of gifted supporting players. But the director’s fourth feature for Netflix is mid-tier Baumbach at best.” The Daily Mail (2/5) “George Clooney’s new film is a real bore…At best, when the movie industry turns a mirror on itself, the results are joyous. Jay Kelly, by contrast, elicits only a few smiles and mostly boredom.” The Guardian (1/5) “Even a George Clooney sizzle reel can’t save this dire Noah Baumbach effort…The affable star plays an affable star assessing his life and career at a Tuscan film festival in a wildly sentimental and self-indulgent piece of cine-narcissism.” Jay Kelly arrives in cinemas in November, before arriving on Netflix in December.