'Author: The JT Leroy Story' A Review

Author: The JT LeRoy Story is a documentary about the literary persona JT LeRoy created by author Laura Albert. Albert recounts her childhood, the creation of LeRoy by calling crisis hotlines, her eventual publication as LeRoy, the subsequent success, the perpetuation of the persona with Albert acting as cockney-accented manager Speedie and Albert's partner's half-sister Savannah as LeRoy, and the eventual reveal by the press. The majority of the film is narrated by Albert with archival footage and taped phone conversations interspersed.

The machinations and extent that Albert went to to create and maintain LeRoy are interesting as is the friendships LeRoy cultivated with celebrities but what becomes startlingly apparent over the course of the film is that Albert is seemingly unwell. There is a naked narcissism on display while Albert recounts the whole controversy, she clearly relishes it all and not only avoids any semblance of responsibility she acts as if no one involved has any. It seems clear she is living in a fantasy world populated by the various personas she created and the celebrities she interacted with. She makes frequent mention of "portals" which she never fully explains but seem to be gateways to fame. LeRoy passed through a portal when he met Bono. She discusses her problems with being overweight and only "felt like herself" after numerous surgeries. Not to say that body issues are superficial but the way she talks about it, with such a disconcerting fat-is-bad skinny-is-pretty attitude, comes across as totally lacking self-awareness.

As the story unfolds Albert seems to have no regard for the effect this deception she was the mastermind of had on people either as a writer or a friend. It's a protracted, indulgent, retelling of the controversy by its perpetrator who is an admitted and proven chronic fabricator thus everything she says is suspect. You'd probably get a clearer less biased version of the story by revisiting the 2006 New York Times article.

The JT LeRoy story certainly has fascinating elements- what is memoir/what is fiction, the separation of art and artist, and the possible motivation for a pretense on this scale- but nothing is ever fully discussed or explored. We spend the majority of the film listening to Albert and as time goes on you feel sad for her because of how many issues she's clearly grappling with(or avoiding), it feels almost invasive or exploitative.

A disconcerting look at an unstable author behind a minor literary scandal. A story more appropriate for a 40 minute podcast than a 110 minute feature film.

Don't See It.