JT LeRoy is a movie suiting those who, at minimum, can entertain the idea that we might not get what we desperately want.

| Apr 2, 2024

Identity is overrated. If Nicolas Bourbaki can do it for math, why can't JT for literature?

| Oct 5, 2021

It fails to level any criticism toward either guilty party and sits firmly on the fence about whether they did anything wrong, nor does it level any real analysis of how manipulative Albert actually was.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 1, 2021

So much pain, hubris, ambition, and damage to draw upon (...) yet we get a breezy, well-lit tale scratching the surface for more surface.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 30, 2021

Kristen Stewart is note-perfect as the androgynous, uncomfortable Knoop - alluring in spite of her awkwardness, intelligent and well-spoken when she decides to speak, constantly on the brink of fleeing any room she's in.

| Mar 12, 2021

As the feverish airhead scheme-meister, Dern electrifies in a near-toxic, hypnotic fusion of manic 60s flower children on speed, an even more energized 60s/70s Grace Slick, and name-yer-hyper-self-involved motor-mouth wannabe of today.

| Feb 11, 2020

Together Justin Kelly and Knoop have created a story and film for fans of JT Leroy, those who enjoyed the media circus of the mystery and for those who are only now discovering the real story as well as the books.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 1, 2020

Tells [the story] faithfully, but maybe not bravely. It's a competent film, it's an interesting film... but I don't think it digs as deeply as it could.

| Sep 27, 2019

JT LeRoy may add to the overall mystique of the story when reviewed alongside the docs and books on the subject. Taken on its own, it leaves the viewer wanting more depth and nuance to bring things full circle.

| Sep 17, 2019

Although JT himself never lived, that doesn't mean he wasn't real, and this compelling film explores that delightfully while handing Stewart yet another standout performance.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 3, 2019

The film is at its strongest when it's exploring the nature of manipulation and who, exactly, is manipulating whom.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 23, 2019

Albert, played by Laura Dern (in some scenes doing a deliberately outrageous English accent), frets about being sidelined. As far as the film's treatment of her is concerned, she has a point.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 19, 2019

Dern brings a hungry, manic energy to Albert... while Stewart's performance is typically interiorised and exacting.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 18, 2019

[Y]ou simply can't look away.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 16, 2019

Stewart excels in portraying the gender issues underpinning the ruse, yet, in drawing on Savannah's 2008 memoir Girl Boy Girl, Kelly seems curiously uninterested in the interior lives of these compelling and chameleonic characters.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 16, 2019

The lifeless narrative rhythm, which quickly succumbs to a deadly causal trap (and then, and then, and then), doesn't help either.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 16, 2019

This female-led tale of identity is a low key but high calibre watch.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 16, 2019

On paper, the role couldn't feel better suited to Stewart: alas, the film isn't sturdy enough to support it.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 15, 2019

JT LeRoy is a decent telling of a fascinating, resonant true story. If it never really fulfils its promise, it's worth it to see two major talents - Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern - in full flow.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 15, 2019

Yet despite the presence of two of our very best female actors, the story has lost much of its power and intrigue.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 14, 2019