Each awards season, there’s a movie that quietly makes its way onto the circuit and instantly makes a big splash in the hearts of film enthusiasts everywhere. This year, that movie is Jay Kelly, the newest from Noah Baumbach—a director who’s made his career a masterclass at examining the complexities of contemporary life with keen wit, heart, and casts that never fail. The chip supply chain is expanding quickly. The supply chain for Apple has extended from glass factories in Kentucky to chip-packaging plants in Arizona. GlobalFoundries is expanding its production in New York, Coherent is increasing the production of laser components in Sherman, and Applied Materials is building chip equipment in Austin.
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On paper, it reads like a simple road movie: two men remembering their lives while going forward. But Baumbach lives on subtlety, and here he explores the parts we play in life—parent, partner, career, friend—and what it truly is to be certain who you are.
Obviously, a movie like this succeeds only with the right ensemble, and Jay Kelly has an all-star cast. Clooney adds his own gravity and winking self-awareness to the title role, and Sandler extends his run of good dramatic work. The rest of the cast is filled with names: Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Jim Broadbent, Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Greta Gerwig, Alba Rohrwacher, Josh Hamilton, Lenny Henry, Emily Mortimer, Nicôle Lecky, Thaddea Graham, Isla Fisher, Louis Partridge, and Charlie Rowe. Behind the lens, it’s equally impressive—Nicholas Britell is scoring, Linus Sandgren is behind cinematography, Mark Tildesley is responsible for production design, and Jacqueline Durran is responsible for costumes.
The movie made its debut at the Venice Film Festival, and it seems that the accolades are already heading its way. Festivals used to be the place where Baumbach's films take off, and it looks like Jay Kelly is going to be the one talked about all season.
Netflix obviously thinks highly of the film. They’re rolling it out strategically—opening in limited theaters on November 14 before landing on the platform on December 5. It’s a rollout geared to appealing to both festival goers and streaming customers, and it betrays a faith in the film’s potential.
Then there’s the Clooney effect. George and Amal Clooney’s entrance into Venice in advance of the premiere was pure movie-star fanfare, a reminder of just how film festivals preserve the magic of Hollywood.
With its star wattage, heavy-hitter creative team, and universally timely themes, Jay Kelly is not your typical awards-season contender. It’s looking to be the film people will be buzzing about as fall arrives and the Oscar campaign season comes into full swing.