Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Early Reviews Applaud Clooney in Baumbach’s Jay Kelly During Limited Theatrical Run

Critics highlight Clooney’s reflective performance in a Baumbach character study about the personal costs of fame.

Overview

  • The Netflix drama is in select theaters now and begins streaming Dec. 5 on Netflix with an R rating for language.
  • Reviewers praise George Clooney’s soulful portrayal of an aging icon reckoning with identity, family, and the hollowing effects of celebrity.
  • Noah Baumbach directs from a script co-written with Emily Mortimer, featuring Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, and Grace Edwards.
  • Critics describe narrative beats that include a mentor’s death, a viral run-in with an old colleague, and a trip to Italy that pushes a family reckoning.
  • The film folds memory vignettes and references to Clooney’s real roles into playful nods to classic cinema to blur fiction and biography.