“It’s a hell of a responsibility to be yourself. It’s much easier to be somebody else or nobody at all” - Sylvia Plath
Though it does not contain that heightened dramatic element as its predecessor, Marriage Story (Baumbach, 2019), Jay Kelly is an emotional tale of an actor's understanding of life.
Starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, and many more talented actors, notable director Noah Baumbach has returned to another dramatic world, in which he creates so well. Six years after Marriage Story (2019) blew people away, Baumbach has written and directed this new drama of the self. A story about how it might really feel to be an actor, not only from their point of view, but from how their career affects those around them.
Jay Kelly (Clooney) has been a professional actor since auditioning for a career starting role while in acting school. He is grown, not only in the eyes of the public, but formed a family as well. Yet the problem with being a world-renowned star is that it means you are always needed elsewhere - whether that be for press, filming, or all of the above - and you never spend time with your family. Kelly’s relationships with his daughters are strained, to say the least. One of them lives in a different country, and the other, though she lives at home, wants to be free to travel the world and be her own person. When Kelly gets a visit from an old acting school classmate, Timothy (Crudup), he is set down a spiralling path.
Lately, the world has received Netflix film after Netflix film that all appear the same. Whether it is the production quality, editing, or the scripts themselves, they become underwhelming and overused. Thankfully, it is apparent that in Jay Kelly Baumbach was able to craft a film of his calibre. As a viewer, it feels wholesome. You are made to believe you are part of Kelly’s journey and that each location he is in is represented as accurately as possible. Some past and current Netflix releases have the impression of too much CGI or VFX, yet Jay Kelly feels real. This feeling, the closeness to reality, allows the audience to connect more with the character as he takes his journey of self-discovery. Instead of unnecessary distractions, we are able to focus on Kelly and those around him; nothing seems out of place.
Baumbach knows how to set up the world of his film. He introduces the audience to Kelly as he is finishing his latest movie, and he wants to get the perfect take for his final scene. Can he do it over again? That is a question that will stick with Kelly throughout the film, and audiences are given this hint from the beginning. As the world surrounding Kelly is built, we begin to understand that it is not just about him but about the people around him as well. An actor’s life is more than just their own, it belongs to those who manage him and whom he signs contracts with. But being owned does not allow you to have a life of your own. How, now after years of being an actor, does he only just begin to understand the consequences his actions and choices have made to the people he is closest to? Maybe it becomes a leap of faith or a midlife crisis, but Kelly decides he is going to chase his daughter to Europe. Cancelling all his plans and making his management team, Ron (Sandler) and Liz (Dern), follow him on this wild endeavour.
The entirety of Jay Kelly is a story built upon an actor’s need to understand. As simple as life becomes, his trip turned into something unexpected. While being surrounded by the everyday person, Kelly appears to be enjoying his time. Clooney’s portrayal of the character brings emotion and depth that allows for the viewer to have an understanding each time Kelly discovers something new. “How can I play people unless I can see people” a statement he makes as he begins to understand how happy everyone is as they travel from one place to another in Europe. Choosing Clooney to play a character like Kelly lacking such understanding is interesting, given how big of a career Clooney has had as an actor. It makes you question whether Clooney found a connection there between character and the self, and how he used his skills to home in and present to the camera his depiction of Kelly.
As with the choice of Clooney for the role of Kelly, Sandler and Dern’s casting somehow fit the bill as well. Never having seen them act together, the connection they developed between their characters and their love, and annoyance, towards Kelly comes across clearly through their talents. Sandler is able to change tone from the comedian the world knows him as to play a character with more depth and sadness to him. Dern, of course, is back as a supporting role in another Baumbach film, and though she only briefly graces the screen, her performance captivates the audience and almost steals the show. She contains so many different emotions, and for a character like Liz who has been working for the same man for years, there is an undertone of anger that is so subtle only a few may see. Few, until it comes out when Liz understands what needs to be done. Talent cannot be forgotten when it comes to Alba Rohrwacher’s small character as well. She shows up and there is humour and nurture there, all that can be expected from her calibre. One does have to appreciate when the casting fits just right. There is not a role in Jay Kelly that feels unnecessary, and each actor plays their parts just right to allow for the story to continue and develop over time.
Baumbach is clever in that the hints that were dropped at the beginning of the film become relevant towards the end. What is an actor’s purpose in this world? Kelly asks himself if how he lived was truly the right way. If you are halfway through your life and you begin to understand that you have missed out on so much, can you begin to understand that you cannot do it over again?
Jay Kelly had its world premiere on August 28, 2025, at the Venice Film Festival before making its way to Telluride in the USA just days later. It has received quite a bit of praise, and the cast and crew appear proud of the film they’ve made. As a study of an actor’s psyche, Jay Kelly will be available for at home viewing when it releases on Netflix on December 5, 2025. Be sure to watch this film either for its potential award season run or for the study into an actor’s thoughts and regrets.
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