Release Date – 14th November 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 12 minutes, Director – Noah Baumbach
In an attempt to reconnect with his daughter (Grace Edwards), a famous Hollywood actor (George Clooney) follows her across Europe, confronting his past and other relationships in the process.
Jay Kelly (George Clooney) is a rich and famous Hollywood actor, but he has problems, too. For year’s he’s been recognised largely as himself, not associated with everyone – although after a string of dud films and a particularly tacky production he’s looking to rekindle old working relationships to get back on track and find the joy of his work again. However, when the director who gave him his big break (Jim Broadbent) passes away Jay starts to look back on his life even more.
After realising his distant relationship with his youngest daughter (Grace Edwards), his estranged eldest (Riley Keough) has left home and forged her own path away from the silver screen, he decides to follow her across a holiday in Europe under the guise of accepting a lifetime achievement award from a festival. However, the journey brings more flashbacks to his past beyond just his work, despite claiming early on that “all my memories are movies.” As director Noah Baumbach – co-writing with Emily Mortimer – dives into these flashbacks there’s something of a disjointed feeling to such scenes, as if separate pockets from the rest of the journey that constructs the overall narrative. It contributes to a feeling of slight uncertainty at the end as to what’s meant to have been taken away from everything that’s just been seen.
Alongside Jay’s journey we see individual strands for those following him, including manager Ron (a wonderfully restrained Adam Sandler in a performance that could finally get him a well-deserved Oscar nomination) and publicist Liz (Laura Dern). The pair appear to have had a history together, but it’s not quite given time to breath, as with most side details from the core arc which settles in nicely to a very traditional Hollywood feel of years gone by.
Clooney leads the action with a brilliant charm and swagger which is chipped away at as Jay re-encounters his past without the lens of work or film. Alongside the light, although sometimes very funny, humour throughout he helps keep engagement throughout the run-time, alongside Sandler who he effectively bounces off of in a relationship which grows more tense in regards to work and life, and giving time to other clients. “You’re a proper human with a family” Ron’s told at one point, “Jay’s single and weird and needs to be entertained.” His entertainment comes from maintaining the glamour, style and suave nature of his films and performances for fans who tell him how much they love him and his work. However, as life and fame appear to be slowing down the fractures in that façade grow and give a chance for the other elements of his life to catch up.
Baumbach and Mortimer bring in moments of poignancy amongst the amusement of the plot. It comes in the quieter more reflective moments where Jay is forced by those around him to finally have an open and direct conversation, to drop the performance. We can see the performance he’s putting on as Clooney shows us the battle playing out behind his character’s eyes between the thoughts of Jay Kelly the famous movie star and Jay Kelly the man forced to confront the moments and relationships of his life. As mentioned, these moments are wonderfully performed with mixed, bittersweet emotions coming from the characters – and often wonderfully captured by Baumbach and cinematographer Linus Sandgren who brings some great shots to the proceedings.
The growing, conflicting emotions of working relationships with friendships and familial bonds is at the fore of Jay Kelly and when being properly confronted they make for some of the strongest details of the film. Brilliantly performed by Clooney with a fantastically understated turn from Sandler, and a great supporting cast, with Baumbach complimenting the unfolding events with a traditional Hollywood feel. Not everything may click as the central figure pushes back against some of what he looks back on and creates an occasionally separate feel to flashbacks, but there’s no denying the level of engagement and amusement there is to be found over the course of this increasingly reflective and consistently enjoyable piece.
While moments that stray from the core narrative of Jay Kelly might feel slightly disjointed from everything else, Clooney and Sandler bring brilliant performances to Baumbach’s funny, reflective and undeniably engaging traditional Hollywood tale of an actor confronting the past and his life outside of films.
Just A Little Bit Random 