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45th DEAUVILLE AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL

Sept 6 - 15, 2019

KRISTEN STEWART : DEAUVILLE TALENT AWARDS 2019

“I have a hard time defining what I want to do as an actor. I want to never know. I want to be present in something and have it feels so real that I feel like it's not made up.” Excellent writeup on her career and filmography on site

PREMIERES

Seberg by Benedict Andrews

Waiting for the Barbarians by Ciro Guerra

JT LeRoy by Justin Kelly

IN COMPETITION

The Lighthouse by Robert Eggers

#Robert Pattinson #Kristen Stewart #deauville film festival #Seberg #The Lighthouse #Waiting for the Barbarians #JTLeroy

J. T. LeRoy (2019)

J.T. LeRoy's works may be overshadowed by the strange story of the person who wrote them. If you've never heard of this story, it doesn't matter. It's the way this tale is told that sucks you in. J.T. Leroy isn’t about the author; it follows the woman she persuaded to dress up and pass off as Jeremiah "Terminator" LeRoy.

Laura Albert (Laura Dern) has been masquerading as the 20-something author of her critically-acclaimed bestseller “Sarah” for some time, claiming JT LeRoy is too shy and introverted to appear publicly. When Laura’s boyfriend Geoffrey (Jim Sturgess) invites his younger sister Savannah (Kristen Stewart) to stay with them for a few days, Laura convinces her to "be" JT, to pose for photos and make public appearances on his behalf.

The big reveal in any other movie is this one’s starting point. Savannah is so moved with “Sarah” she feels a part of the novel’s protagonist (whom Laura has insinuated is inspired by JT’s springing) lives within her. She accepts to do Laura a favor by putting on a wig, sunglasses, baggy clothes, and mumbling a bunch of vague lines about how shy he is to appease those who doubted his existence. It shouldn't work but something about Laura - who comes to every public event and interview under a fake identity - has the confidence (or is it idiotic bravado) to make it work. As she says, “when someone tells you who they are, how often do you question it?”

You know eventually the lie will be exposed but while waiting, you’re taken on this unexpectedly emotional journey. From the moment you meet Laura, you understand why she would put on this grand facade to sensationalize her work. It’s nuts, but it’s certainly got people talking and she's a little off her rocker. She claims putting herself in the characters’ shoes allowed her to write things she'd never been able to on her own. The bigger question is what kind of person would play along? That’s what this movie is really about; exploring the fascinating journey Savannah undergoes until she almost becomes more JT, than the “original”.

It may be disappointing to some that the film isn’t sensational and doesn’t focus on the meaty and inevitable scandal. I might’ve felt the same way had it not been for the performances. Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart are invisible in their roles. You forget about any movie you’ve seen them in previous and live in the here and now of their performances. They take you on this wild ride whose final destination you cannot predict by not going the obvious route. The complicated gender and sexual non-conformity of Savannah, the two women’s strange bond would be mundane anywhere else. Wrapped up in this “so crazy it has to be true” con, I found it gripping. (Theatrical version on the big screen, June 10, 2019)