J.T. LeRoy. (15.)
Directed by Justin Kelly.
Starring Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Jim Sturgess, Diane Kruger, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and James Jagger. 106 mins.
The moment you meet Laura Albert (Dern) you can tell she is an arty phoney: over-enthusiastic, everything is genius and blows her mind. The twist is that she is actually a genuine fraud, and a highly gifted one: writing a best selling misery memoir about growing up as the abused son of a truck stop hooker in Tennessee under the name JT Leroy. The ruse has been so successful she persuades her sister in law Savanah (Stewart) to pose as the androgynous LeRoy in sunglasses and a blonde wig at public appearances.
The true story of JT Leroy is a fascinating one, told previously in the documentary Author: The JT LeRoy Story. That was Albert's version and kept a deal of intrigue and mystery around the case. This is based on Savanah's memoir and is a straighter, just the facts telling, and is just a wee bit dull. And though it is indelicate to mention it, Dern is about a decade and a half older than Albert was, and seems way less messed up.
Directed by Justin Kelly.
Starring Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Jim Sturgess, Diane Kruger, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and James Jagger. 106 mins.
The moment you meet Laura Albert (Dern) you can tell she is an arty phoney: over-enthusiastic, everything is genius and blows her mind. The twist is that she is actually a genuine fraud, and a highly gifted one: writing a best selling misery memoir about growing up as the abused son of a truck stop hooker in Tennessee under the name JT Leroy. The ruse has been so successful she persuades her sister in law Savanah (Stewart) to pose as the androgynous LeRoy in sunglasses and a blonde wig at public appearances.
The true story of JT Leroy is a fascinating one, told previously in the documentary Author: The JT LeRoy Story. That was Albert's version and kept a deal of intrigue and mystery around the case. This is based on Savanah's memoir and is a straighter, just the facts telling, and is just a wee bit dull. And though it is indelicate to mention it, Dern is about a decade and a half older than Albert was, and seems way less messed up.
