Jay Kelly: In Retrospect
A couple of months back, a trailer for a movie by the title "Jay Kelly" popped up on my feed. Intrigued by the premise it had, I gave it a watch. It had George Clooney and Adam Sandler in it, and it seemed like it would be worth a view: a movie about an actor questioning his own life. Fast forward to Filmekimi, October, I was able to get tickets and see the movie in the glorious Atlas Sinema. Needless to say, the movie offered a great viewing experience, and I left the theater with my mind filled with questions and thoughts. Jay Kelly spoke to me, and I want to explore how, as well as why.
Directed by Noah Baumbach, who is known for his writing work on Barbie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and the film Marriage Story, Jay Kelly is, at its core, a meta-narrative about the movie industry. Filmed with wide angles, harmonic color schemes, and amazing cinematography in general, the movie captures the audience from the first scene in a movie set and never drops the tension until the very end. The movie is about actor Jay Kelly trying to navigate his life as a successful Hollywood actor. Attempting to tell a grand story that is both meta and has a self-proclaimed deep message, the movie seems to take itself very seriously, just like actor Jay Kelly. Brilliantly, however, the movie is aware of its own self-indulgence and even plays with it, adding to the conceit and egotistical nature of its central character through the nature of the film itself.
The movie tells the story of world-renowned actor Jay Kelly, played by world-renowned actor George Clooney. Kelly has been the superstar of Hollywood for the past few decades, and there doesn't seem to be an end to his success in the movie industry. We meet him right when he is rounding up another movie shoot, and the time when Peter, his close friend and mentor, passes away. Out of grief, confusion, a desire to spend time with his young daughter on her last summer home, all combined with a midlife crisis, Jay Kelly sets off to France, in a huge private jet, full of all of his employees. Kelly is searching for the answers to his heart, and he can only do that away. With his physical journey follows Kelly a spiritual and mental exploration through his own beliefs and ideas regarding who he is, and what he has done with his time.
The central themes of the film Jay Kelly are "regret" and "success". Through Jay Kelly, an actor who, despite having a fruitful and successful movie career, feels shallow and unimportant, the movie conveys how success does not necessarily lead to happiness. At almost every moment, the movie is trying to convey the disparities between the two major ideas: Jay Kelly is successful but unhappy, popular but alone, accomplished but insignificant. Throughout the film, we see his character slowly come to the final realization that he has indeed wasted most of his life. He is not content with how he spent his time, and there is now no way to take it all back.
While in France, Kelly's employees drop out one by one, some leaving to cut the hair of the French president, while others simply getting sick of babysitting. Kelly's sense of loneliness is emphasized on screen by the gradual disappearance of his crew members, who despite symbolizing social connection, are ironically paid workers. Even his daughter, Daisy, who was the reason for his travels to France, doesn't want Kelly. His other daughter, who cut ties with him years ago, won't even talk to him. Kelly's agent Ron, who is played by Adam Sandler, is the only one to stick with Kelly throughout his time in France. In turn, however, Jay Kelly dismisses Ron, who is perhaps his only friend, and chooses to continue the journey alone, not because he wants to, but because he doesn't know how not to.
When Kelly finally makes his way to the awards ceremony in Tuscany, Jay is stranded in the depths of his heart and mind. Questioning what his life means, whether his hard-earned success is actually worth it, and whether he lived a good life, Kelly is almost hysterical when faced with himself and his own life. The tension that has been building up since the beginning of the movie is finally released in the scene with the awards ceremony. Jay Kelly is celebrated with this huge, honorary event dedicated to nobody other than him. Despite being happy, however, Jay Kelly is filled with sorrow in a room where he has no one other than himself.
At the ceremony, Jay watches scenes from all of his previous movies (scenes are provided from George Clooney's appearances in past films), and closes with the line that started the movie: "Can I do it again? I'd really like another one," this time talking about his life in the context of a scene. The audience is left with a depressive payoff that is filled with despair, whereas the film's many previous warm moments could lead. This is not the case, however, as Jay Kelly is a film about real life, not cartoons with happy endings. The ending strips the movie bare of all pretension and sugarcoating. The ending is painful, not only because of the loneliness, but because of the sense of waste which is so prominent within Kelly's character. Jay Kelly is left alone, hopeless, and without anything to give himself credit for; how can he be happy?
Ultimately, Jay Kelly is a movie about life itself. It asks the question, "What do we do with the realization of a wasted life?" and the answer isn't very simple. We live in a world that is growing more and more inclined towards prizing productivity over quality, efficiency over humanity, and money over connection. We see this in the corporate world, in the movie industry, in almost anywhere we look, and even in our very own community; Jay Kelly is a prime victim of this trend. The race to take as many rigorous classes as possible, to get ahead of everybody else, and be the sole success story is tiring and dehumanizing, and it doesn't lead to any tangible place of happiness either. Deprived of true connection, we attempt to consolidate by setting our eyes on this idea of "success", which will seemingly grant eternal happiness and satisfaction. This is not the case, however, as not only is it unhealthy, it is simply unrealistic.
Even if success is promised at the end of this road, and even if we do find fame, money, and all the luxury in the world, happiness and true connection are not. We are still young, and though it may seem like we have a lot of time ahead of us, we do not. Life moves quite fast, and the pain of real regret is one nobody can truly bear. This is why we have to focus on the important things now. To make our lives count, to make them true and our very own, and to be happy, we have to make every second of every day count. We have to be good to each other and see through the superficial ideologies subjected to us regarding success and fame. We have to cherish our loved ones and spend time with them, rising above the need to be validated as "successful." We have to live and love with all our hearts, so that when we reach the end of the road, we won't be the ones suddenly asking, "Can I get another one?" because we won't get another one. We will never have another shot, and we certainly will not be relieved of a life of regret. This is it, so we'd better make it count.
