User reviews

This wasn't really a big story here, at least I don't remember anything at the time, but in the US, JT LeRoy was a celebrated underground author. Only problem was, he's not real. For a pretty punk tale, this doc is extremely well crafted, lovingly drip feeding the viewer this somewhat tragic and almost poetic and fascinatingly complex story. An intense story of identity, "built brick by dysfunctional brick" with the levels that are reached becoming truly staggering. What is 'real' anyway.

I'll make this short but sweet.

A forty-year old straight woman wrote a couple of wonderful and beloved works of fiction.

She was subsequently accused of "manipulating the system" by posing as a young, gay male.

The fact is, those much beloved books probably never would have seen the light of day had she not take the route that she did.

And as a writer, that makes me madder than anything.

Laura Albert was abused as a child. As an adult, she started to write: fiction, but intensely personal fiction, informed by her past. Her voice, as a writer, was that of a young (gender-uncertain) man. But far from this voice being an intellectual creation, her character was almost an alternative personality, a being through whom she channelled a part of her self that she couldn't reach any other way. One could Laura had a gift for a form of role-play that had very little to do with play (J.T. Leroy was not the only persona who she could adopt more or less at will but with an almost uncontrollable conviction). When she published, she did so under the J.T. Leroy name. And she used that character's biography as a lever to attract interest in the stories he was telling. It's odd, fiction is fiction, but as the audience we like it if we feel it is based on personal experience. And J.T. was the author who just might have written Albert's novels, although the irony is that the books were still deeply personal, albeit less obviously than if J.T. had actually existed and written them himself.

Then the story gets really weird. The books are a hit; the media wants to see J.T.; Laura persuades a (female) relative to act as J.T. in public, while she herself adopts another guise as J.T.'s manager. J.T. becomes famous, a friend to countless celebrities. Then eventually, the truth gets out and in the end, Albert is sued for fraud.

It's an amazing story, relayed in this film. Less interesting than the "is it fraud?" aspect is Albert's amazing ability to sustain multiple identities, and what's sad is the story of personal trauma that might have caused this to be. It's also interesting to see the way that our culture needs to make events out of things, that instead of simply judging what only ever claimed to be fiction on its merits, it's the media's obsession with the character of the author that makes Albert's deceptions a public phenomenon (although, to be fair, this is also what enables Albert to sell so many books and to meet so many famous people). The film definitely is Albert's telling of her story, and her self-evident skill in manipulating reality means one has to watch it with a measure of caution; but for the most part it rings true, a fascinating yet in places disturbing tale of life and art intermingling.

I went into the theatre knowing nothing about J T Leroy. I hadn't even heard of him. A recommendation from my daughter and a quick watch of half the trailer suggested this would be worth a watch.

This is one of the best documentaries I have ever watched. It is told with pace and energy such that it feels more like a fictional drama unfolding in front of you. The story itself is weird. I empathised with the characters in particular the lead narrator and how she had slid down like Alice in Wonderland into a surreal world of fame and celebrity.

Never dull and full of suspense and interest this is a great movie that I'd thoroughly recommend.

"Author: The JT Leroy Story" (2016 release; 110 min.) brings the story of the JT Leroy literary phenomenon from the late 90s./early 00. As the movie opens, we see Winona Ryder give praise to JT Leroy for being such an inspiration. We then go back to "Brooklyn, 1995" and we get to know a woman by the name of Laura Albert, who, as it turns out, is the voice and brains behind JT Leroy, a shy 15 yr. old boy who may be imaginary to us, but is all too real in Laura's mind and, as we'll see in the movie, in the minds of many other people (Dennis Cooper, Bruce Benderson, Billy Corgan, Courtney Love, etc.). To tell you more of the story would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this documentary is written and directed by Jeff Feuerzeig, who previously brought us another outstanding documentary called "The Devil and Daniel Johnston". Here he examines the JT Leroy story, and the fine line that exists between original authorship and a hoax. When all this happened in the mid/late 90s, I was vaguely aware of it, but by no means in the amount of details that we are given here. It is an absolutely fascinating story that would be hard to believe, if in fact it hadn't happened. You can't make this stuff up! Laura Albert is of course a master storyteller, and she carries the documentary on her back, both for the good and for the not-so-good. As she points out, the books published under the JT Leroy name were clearly labeled "FICTION".

I saw "Author: The JT Leroy" this past weekend at the Landmark E Street Cinema in Washington, DC. The early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great (I don't know how long this has been playing already). If you are in the mood for a great documentary that examines many interesting aspects of what some call the greatest literary hoax ever, you cannot go wrong with this. "Author: The JT Leroy Story" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The subject of the film was very interesting but I became increasingly annoyed by the directors showing off. "I felt I was underwater' cut to footage shot underwater. 'I felt I was in a movie', cut to footage imitating a b movie, the director felt the need to underline everything as if the viewer could not imagine for themselves. Words were repeatedly scrawled over the image accompanied by an effect, OK for a while but it repeatedly became a stylistic tic. Tiresome. A shame because the subject was fascinating, It would have been better if the animations were in ironic counterpoint not simply illustrative. There were also many, many shots of telephones.

This Albert person is so chronically and sickeningly manipulative. She calls writers and panders to their egos, feeding their need for adoration. They, in turn, help Albert get publishers and agents. Smart. Very smart.

Albert feeds HER need for attention and adoration by courting celebs and rock stars. Overweight, she could not have come forward as herself - she doesn't feel capable of doing so. But she is VERY capable of controlling the other players. I can't imagine how she accomplished this for so long. Albert even brought HER SON into this game...can you imagine how messed up THAT kid is going to be???

I have seen this film, and am sure Albert feels gratified that she has told her story well. Frankly, she just sounds mentally ill. This is a severely deranged and dangerous individual.

Just saw this brilliantly directed film at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The packed theater went bonkers.

Author: The JT Leroy Story, directed by Jeff Feuerzeig, is inventive, mysterious, mesmerizing and about a dozen other superlatives.

And if you think you know the story of JT Leroy, you have another think coming.

You might say, what Samuel Clemens is to Mark Twain, author Laura Albert is to JT Leroy. Except Mr. Clemens and Mr. Twain aren't nearly as jaw-dropping provocative.

It's one of those "must-see-to-believe, one-of-a-kind" kind of films that has Oscar written all over it. From top to bottom, beginning to end.

This film is a document of genius, however twisted and malformed it might have arrived onto the world. You get a sense that without the betrayal inherent in the story, Laura Albert's writing might have not been met with the same fanfare. Fair? Unfair? Does it matter? What Albert pulled off was her own; she brought an alter ego to life, and bamboozled a lot of people in the process. She also happens to be, as herself, a brilliant writer and public speaker, and this movie is transfixing because of her, rather than in spite of her. The way she tells her story in this documentary is completely delicious.

I won't bother with a primer, since those tuning into the film will surely know how about said deception, but won't know the details until they see it here. Those who have no clue about this story deserve to hear it from the horse's mouth.

What I'm most interested in what this deception/accomplishment says about the nature of celebrity and fame versus what it says about either Albert or the woman she enlisted to play JT LeRoy, Savannah Knoop. They were both playing roles, as were so many of the people they ingratiated themselves with; celebrities who knocked on their doors, rather than the other way around. The whole ordeal could be seen as a kind of long form performance art, although that would be unfairly generous, and Albert is so amusingly blunt in this documentary that she doesn't even try to pawn it off as such. She just explains how her lie got out of hand, and how amazed she was that it exploded so far out of proportion. She appears to be completely honest here, and that candidness is what makes the film so fun, and so astonishing.

I loved hearing Laura Albert as herself. A woman who was so afraid to be seen as the author of her own writing, as somebody so self conscious and suffering such negative self image, that it wasn't even a matter of trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes, it was just a matter of necessity. Albert's con is so outlandish that it deserves a level of appreciation for the sophistication and dedication that went into it, although there is a level of illness and/or malevolence at play too.

This doc has been rightfully accused of glossing over some of this and presenting a single side of this story - many of LeRoy's suitors and admirers were horrified to learn that intimate conversations had been taped. Many people were embarrassed. And mostly people just wanted to believe, and wanted to be close to LeRoy, in whatever way, sometimes intimately. This is a game of celebrity, and if somebody wants to be famous this way, then so be it.

What separates Albert from a fame digger, or her as a fifteen minute idol is that she ultimately is a very talented writer, and wrote in a way that people responded to very deeply. And as a doc, this is about as entertaining as one could be.

The cat is out of the bag. We finally meet the woman behind the creation of literary genius JT Leroy. This movie delves into the truth of Laura Albert, and it is surprising. She didn't intend to hurt people, but her creation, JT Leroy went from nom de plume to real life boy. And now we hear from Laura herself, apologetic yet unabashed. She reveals the behind the scenes of the New York Bestselling author that swept through the publishing world and became a well known, all while Laura watched from the sidelines watching the praise and acknowledgement get showered on her creation. But it all came crashing down and here we have the aftermath. This movie is fascinating and candid. The emotions are real. This is an important documentary that touches on things like identity, acceptance, betrayal, and finally the unmasking of the true genius behind the books, and the creation of JT Leroy.

Fascinating for what it unconciously reveals. The filmmaker, like the other dupes, whats to believe that JT LeRoy is something more than a hoax.

So this film is remarkably uncritical. Laura Alpert is taken completely at her own valuation. Like her writing, the film slickly plays on the audiences fantasies and fears.

Laura's infatuation with celebrity seems to be behind a lot of the hoax, but the filmmaker never explores this. He seems to be just another one of her dupes and ignores the issues raised by Laura, accepting them without question. The advantage of this approach is that Laura reveals more of herself than she probably intended. But the film never probes the material.

This is very disturbing, because of blindness of the filmmaker and the subject. They seem to be insight-free, which probably explains why this hoax could be perpetrated to begin with.