Reactions and reviews on 'Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy' from the Toronto International Film Festival

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Reviews

Indiewire

The JT Leroy saga is readymade for the movies, and two years ago it gave birth to Jeff Feuerzeig’s documentary “Author: The JT Leroy Story.” That provided a fascinating overview of extensive scheme by Bay Area author Laura Albert, who wrote under the nom de plume of the fictional Leroy and gave him a backstory, hoodwinking fans all over the world by pretending that (s)he was a former teen prostitute with prodigal talent.

Albert pulled it off for years, pretending to be Leroy on the phone while sending her androgynous sister-in-law Savannah Knoop to play the character in public. But while “Author” explores the eccentric Albert’s identity crisis in her own words, it relegated Knoop to a supporting character. Writer-director Justin Kelly’s “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” puts her front and center, bringing an intriguing new angle on the bizarre literary con as we see Knoop being forced into playing a character more exciting than herself.

Based on Knoop’s memoir, the movie’s ace in the hole is Kristen Stewart as its lead, inhabiting the genderqueer character with a credible shyness and curiosity that suits the actress’ strengths; she’s complemented by an energetic Laura Dern as a dead-ringer for Albert. While Kelly’s faithful dramatization doesn’t offer a lot of fresh insights, and fizzles by the end, it remains an involving snapshot of two women grappling with their private and public personas until they collide.

Kelly is a natural fit for this material. His underrated debut “I Am Michael” focused on real-life gay activist-turned-Christian pastor Michael Glatze, and “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” focuses on a similar case of people uncomfortable in their own skin. When Knoop first shows up in Albert’s life, she’s already deep into her writing life as JT Leroy, with her musician husband Geoff (a fine, understated Jim Sturgess) begrudgingly a part of the scam. Albert recognizes that she limits the potential for JT by keeping the character to a voice on the phone, and coaxes Knoop into joining the facade with ease.

Their initial attempts to bring JT into real world are compelling as these actors excel at inhabiting their roles on several levels at once. “I’m really good at pretending to be a feral 19-year-old street kid,” Knoop says to Alpert, who plays JT’s exuberant British manager when the pair go on a photo shoot. “That’s not weird, right?”

Of course, everything about the situation is exactly that — from Albert’s excitement over the expansion of an increasingly risky plan to the awkward blond wig that Knoop wears when she’s in character. Knoop goes from being the custodian of Albert’s creation to developing her own sense of ownership. For a while, Kelly generates a remarkable degree of intrigue as Tim Kvavnosky’s high-pitch score injects the scenario with an aura of mystery. The movie, which opens with the Oscar Wilde quote that “the truth is never pure and rarely simple,” explores that notion as both women realize they’ve created a real character stuck between two vessels. Stewart remains a compelling, enigmatic screen presence, but she’s well served by her veteran co-star. While technically a supporting character, Dern often steals the show, relishing the opportunity to shift between a trio of personalities to darkly comic effect. That’s appropriate in a movie all about the perils of seeking attention.

The drama becomes less engaging as the story grows busier, with Diane Kruger surfacing as Eva, a not-so-thinly-veiled riff on Asia Argento. The actor-director is keen on coaxing JT into giving her the rights to adapt “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things,” which Argento did shortly before a New York magazine article outed JT as Albert and the plan came crashing down. (The timing of “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” has the unfortunate tarnish of arriving shortly after news broke that “Heart” star Jimmy Bennett allegedly had sex with Argento while he was underage; Argento has denied the charges.)

By hinging the stakes on this scenario while reducing the journalistic exposé to the final minutes, “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” downgrades the traumatic impact of the media attention for both Albert and Knoop to a coda; as a result, the story has a lopsided quality, lingering in redundant scenes of Knoop playing JT — while Albert grows envious — and lessening the dramatic downfall for everyone involved.

Nevertheless, Stewart is captivating in a challenging role that requires her to juggle several identities at once. While developing a romance with a guy she meets in her day job (“It Comes at Night” breakout Kelvin Harrison Jr.), Knoop also falls in love with Eva, inadvertently constructing a love triangle that puts her fluid sexuality to a complicated test. The meta qualities of watching Stewart tackle this as she moves further away from the straight-laced roles that defined her career before she came out sit well with a movie about a thorny coming out process. (The movie’s meta qualities extend to the stunt casting of Courtney Love, who was hoodwinked by Albert herself, in a fleeting supporting role.) Kelly’s screenplay is especially adroit at investing the fresh desires that Knoop uncovers in the midst of her role playing, and why she struggles to let it go. Arguing with her boyfriend about why she should keep up with the game, he tells her, “You sound like an addict.” At its best, “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” magnifies the impulse behind this obsessive tendency to embrace a personality beyond one’s self.

The movie culminates with a trip to the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where “Heart” premiered a matter of months before Albert and Knoop were exposed. As Kelly brings the story to a tidy completion, it manages to leave open the question of whether Alpert — now a celebrity in her own right — got what she wanted all along. But by handing the spotlight to Knoop, it makes that final mystery less relevant. “Author” remains the superior chronicle of the JT Leroy story, but “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” contains the tantalizing suggestion that it wasn’t Albert’s story to tell in the first place.

The Guardian (4 stars out of 5 stars)

Of the actors slated to star in Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy when Justin Kelly first got the production’s wheels turning in 2016, only Kristen Stewart saw it through to shooting. She plays Savannah Knoop, a young woman who posed as the invented literary persona JT LeRoy in the early 2000s, and thank the gods of cinema she stuck around. A fascinating synergy runs both ways between Stewart and the unlikely story of Leroy’s ascent to stardom in the publishing world. The actor’s intensively documented public life adds one more layer to a film that already has a lot on its mind regarding celebrity, constructed identity, gender and authenticity.

Both Stewart and LeRoy, a 19-year-old street kid created by Knoop’s sister-in-law Laura Albert (Laura Dern) as an avatar for her writing, have appeared to be uncomfortable with their fame. Each resisted the attention heaped on them, which only made the public hungrier for details. They’ve toyed with androgyny, using short-cropped haircuts and loose, body-masking clothing. And they each, in their own way, made a career of pretending. Stewart has described herself as a bad liar in interviews, suggesting that honesty paves the way to summoning truth in a performance. Laura and Savannah are united in the belief that a lie from the heart can be more real than a reality foisted on them by fate. The main difference is that Laura and Savannah just played it a bit faster and looser with their ethics.

Dern plays Laura as a master manipulator, who can talk anyone into anything with the right melange of new-age platitudes. (“I felt JT leave my body and enter yours!” she says, convincingly enough for Savannah’s satisfaction.) When her lover/bandmate Geoff (Jim Sturgess) introduces her to his sister, Laura immediately recognises the ideal collaborator in Savannah, a lump of clay she can mould in an image incompatible with her own.

She earns the girl’s trust by sharing juicy moments from her past – work on a phone-sex line that taught her how to be someone else; the period she was 100lb heavier – and assumes her position as puppetmaster. It starts innocently enough, with Savannah donning a wig and shades for an author photo to accompany an article, but matters quickly spin out of control. Laura kept an eye on her alter ego by posing as LeRoy’s British handler Speedie, feeding the disguised Savannah responses to inquiries. But by the time an Asia Argento stand-in named Ava (Diane Kruger) has launched a multi-million-dollar film adaptation of a LeRoy-credited novel, both Laura and Savannah have got in far over their heads.

While in LeRoy mode, Savannah behaves not unlike the way Stewart did during the Twilight press tours when she was swarmed by journalists intent on worming their way into her private life. It’s only when she starts to sever her marionette strings, making remarks not preapproved by Albert and striking up a romance with Ava, that their fragile success starts to fall apart. Their arguments and the exposé that follows give way to the film’s most intellectually substantive bits – debates over the limits to which anyone can remould their sense of self. Does Laura’s troubled life story have less value depending on who’s telling it? Can incidental good, expressed via an anonymous boy who tremblingly says that their work saved his life, validate a lie told for personal gain? Was the joke really on the preening upper crust who fell over themselves to praise an image? Director Justin Kelly doesn’t come down too hard on either of his subjects, acknowledging that there are few clear-cut answers.

Savannah and Laura’s stories had happy endings. They each parlayed their notoriety into careers, the irony being that they had to forge an ersatz life story to make their own life stories interesting to the literati. All of which speaks to the matter at the heart of Kelly’s theoretical tangle: our unwillingness, inability, or simple lack of interest in viewing the artist independent of the art. JT LeRoy may have been an elaborate fib, but Kelly finds a genuine pearl of wisdom in the web of deception.

Screendaily

There’s nothing about this watchable but somewhat workmanlike dramatisation of the literary fraud behind author ‘JT LeRoy’ which is anywhere near as extreme as the story on which it is based. But Justin Kelly’s low key directing choices allow the two very fine central performances to take centre stage. Kristen Stewart (playing Savannah Knoop / JT LeRoy) is typically subtle; Laura Dern (playing Laura Albert / Speedie / JT’s words and voice) is a hurricane of enthusiasms, mannerisms and agonising naked neediness. Intriguing themes of identity, fantasy and creative ownership are explored in a film which, in some ways, takes the form of love triangle; albeit one in which one of the parties is fictional.

The curious story of teenage truck stop rent boy-turned-bestselling author JT LerRoy has already been explored in the documentary Author: The JT LeRoy Story, by Jeff Feuerzeig. And one might assume that LeRoy, the alter ego or literary avatar of Laura Albert, had already outstayed his welcome in the public arena, but for the canny casting of Kristen Stewart in a gender fluid role which is pretty much tailor made for her skillset. Stewart will be a key selling point for the picture; likewise the playful tone and flashes of humour should generate positive word of mouth.

Stewart imbues Savannah, fresh off the bus and new to the city, with a fragility and malleability. She’s barely grown, a crop-haired waif, in awe of her big brother Geoffrey (Jim Sturgess) and his girlfriend Laura. She praises everything – their apartment, Geoffrey and Laura’s wretchedly average rock band Twist And Scream. And Laura, clearly a fan of affirmation in any form, embraces Savannah like a long lost sister, love-bombing her with attention and unsolicited confidences in return for Savannah’s wide-eye appreciation.

When Savannah is visibly moved by the newly published book by JT LeRoy, secretly penned by Laura, an idea forms. The androgynous Savannah dons a blonde wig and shades and poses as J T, her supreme discomfort in the deception working in her favour. Laura, meanwhile, pulls on a bright red wig and an unconvincing British accent to play another of her alter egos, JT’s friend, handler, and spokesperson Speedie.

But where Speedie is abrasive and off-putting, ostracised in the very circles into which her writing has bought them entry, Savannah’s husky whisper of sensuality in her JT guise is like catnip to the literary and, later, the movie world. She beguiles a brash Hollywood producer, played by Courtney Love (in a meta twist, Love was one of the artists who was photographed draped over the real JT).

But it’s the actress and director Eva (Diane Kruger), based on Asia Argento, who becomes a flashpoint. Savannah as JT has a sexual encounter with Eva; Laura, who talks to the actress daily on the phone, voice disguised with a treacly Southern accent, is at pains to point out that it’s JT’s words, not Savannah’s body, that Eva desires. The relationship between Laura and Savannah becomes a tussle for ownership, of JT and of Eva.

Based as it is on Knoop’s book, Savannah is the focus of the film. But it is Laura – this desperately unhappy woman who only feels comfort in reinvention – who is the more fascinating character. Dern, always just pulling back from the brink of grotesque in her depiction, is superb.

Of the film’s creative elements, the score is particularly noteworthy. A questioning flute motif, it adds to the film’s appealing enigma; meanwhile the choice of Hole’s Celebrity Skin for the closing titles is an on-the-nose wink to the audience.

The Film Stage

Kristen Stewart’s young career is peppered with highs–most notably, Olivier Assayas’s Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper–but the actress has never been more natural, more unaffected, or as legitimately fascinating onscreen as she is in Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy. As Savannah Koop, the infamous “body” of nonexistent author JT LeRoy, Stewart is vulnerable, funny, and wounded. Yet she’s also nonchalantly charismatic, showing how and why the sight of the quiet, bewigged LeRoy was so utterly enticing to a world craving for mystery.

It’s a stunning performance, one matched by the wondrous Laura Dern as Laura Albert, the author who created LeRoy and wrote his works. Jeremiah is bouncy and pleasing, if overfamiliar and never as insightful as one would hope. That is not necessarily the fault of director Justin Kelly (I Am Michael, King Cobra), who co-wrote the film with Koop herself. It has far more to do with the existence of the 2016 documentary Author: The JT LeRoy Story. That delightfully juicy film tackled the tale first, telling the sordid tale with wit and visual ingenuity. When watching Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, it’s nearly impossible to be surprised by the revelations therein–if, that is, one has seen Author.

Jeremiah director Kelly and his cast deserve credit, however, for creating a film that is so undeniably entertaining. The focus here smartly shifts from Albert, the real subject of Author, to Koop. As Jeremiah begins, young Savannah has arrived in San Francisco and the home her musician brother, Geoffrey (Jim Sturgess), shares with his bandmate and wife, Laura. The duo have a secret to share with Savannah: Laura is the uncredited author of Sarah, a much-buzzed story of a boy’s fractured youth with his lot-lizard mother in West Virginia. The credited author is one JT LeRoy, a puzzling figure to the literary world. Laura knows how to milk LeRoy’s invisibility, often masquerading as the author on phone calls. But the sight of Savannah presents Laura with the unique opportunity to give physical life to the reclusive writer.

In a blonde wig, sunglasses, and baggy, ill-fitting clothes, Savannah fits the role perfectly. Laura reassures Savannah that her reservations about the lying and the possibility of being discovered are slim. And this is true, for a while. Savannah’s LeRoy is showered with attention, from fellow writers to Hollywood producers (a well-cast Courtney Love plays one) and even an international icon (Diane Kruger portrays a famous European actor-director named Eva whose identity will be obvious to anyone who saw Author). And by her side, as always, is Laura Albert. She found her own role to play: a chatty British handler named Speedy. Dern is a delight as Speedy, whose exaggerated accent draws raised eyebrows among all who come into contact with her and LeRoy.

The JT LeRoy saga was always doomed to end in disappointment. As Kelly shows, Laura’s grip on the situation becomes increasingly tenuous, while her work with husband Geoffrey becomes further marginalized. Meanwhile, Savannah grows more and more accustomed to portraying JT. And her intimate relationship with Eva further complicates matters. During this stretch, the work of Stewart and Dern is particularly strong. They capture the complexity of the situation, as well as the inherent drama. The existence of JT LeRoy, writer and superstar, means Savannah and Laura must coexist, and must deal with the complex jealousies and passions involved. How could a situation this murky last forever?

Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is less concerned in issues of authorship and authenticity than Author was, and that’s a key distinction. Instead, this film works to establish a real emotional link between Savannah, Laura, and the audience. The hugely talented Kelly nails it. Yet the aforementioned air of over-familiarity is impossible to overcome. It keeps Jeremiah from ever approaching greatness, but while the film may not count as a complete success, the performances are worthy of great praise. The casting of Stewart and Dern is inspired, and they make Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy a tasty, satisfying version of one of the most gobsmackingly wacky literary hoaxes of the last two decades. It’s certainly fun to revisit the JT LeRoy story again. Now, it’s time to let it rest.

We Live Entertainment

Based on a fascinating true story, Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy tells the story of author Laura Albert and how the creation of a literary persona led the world to believe that she was a teenage boy. The film stars Laura Dern as Laura Albert and Kristen Stewart as her sister-in-law Savannah Knoop. The film is based on Savannah Knoop’s Memoir: Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy.

While Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is one of the lesser known films to premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, it was undoubtedly one of my most anticipated. When the film was announced as the closing night film, I was incredibly excited because I adore Kristen Stewart and had a feeling that she was perfectly cast as Savannah Knoop. The film also stars Laura Dern, who let’s be honest, is pretty spectacular in almost everything.

The story behind Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is a remarkable one because it occurred during a time where the internet was everywhere so I can’t help but wonder how Laura Albert and Savannah Knoop were able to trick the public for over five years without getting caught. Justin Kelly’s film highlights how Laura Albert convinced Savannah Knoop to take on the role of JT LeRoy as well as how JT LeRoy’s mysterious and random public appearances ultimately lead to Ava, a notable actress (Diana Kruger) wanting to make a movie about JT LeRoy’s life.

JT LeRoy’s story is very relevant to today as it reminds me of the way that many people adopt a different persona when on social media. Throughout the film, there is this theme that suggests, if we don’t like who we are, we can create a persona that will make us feel better about ourselves. This was the feeling I got whenever Laura Albert was talking to other people while pretending to be JT LeRoy. In a scene, near the end of the film,  JT LeRoy is talking with Ava, the actress who she gave the movie rights to, who asks JT if he’s real. JT replies with “JT is whoever you want him to be.”

Laura Dern portrayal of Laura Albert is terrific. Since the film is being told from the perspective of Savannah, we see Laura as a manipulator who has created the persona of JT LeRoy to have her 15 minutes of fame. Throughout the film, we see Laura taking advantage of everyone she comes in contact with by telling them stories about her past to make them feel sorry for her. Dern portrayal of Laura reminded me of a great salesperson where she was able to sell pretty much anything because she genuinely believes in what she is doing and saying. She has a way of toying with people’s emotions and making them do things that they don’t necessarily want to do.

There are a few times during the film where Laura is talking to Savannah and telling her things as a way to coax her into doing something that she doesn’t want any part of. Laura tells Savannah various stories about how she used to be 100lbs overweight or how she was abused and put in a mental home. She is an extortionist that has become obsessed with playing out the role of JT LeRoy although she isn’t him. This is easily one of my favorite Laura Dern performances to date because it feels so unique and unlike anything that she has done before.

Kristen Stewart as JT LeRoy is the very definition of perfect casting. This is a role that Stewart was born to play. When you see the film and then look at photos or videos of JT LeRoy online, they look pretty much identical. Another reason why Stewart is so perfect for the role is that she often comes across as somewhat uncomfortable when in the spotlight which is just like the persona she is playing in the film. Stewart’s performance comes across as so authentic because she is someone who enjoys being a creative artist but isn’t a fan of the limelight. This element of Stewart’s personality elevates her performance to a whole another level.

Stewart’s performance in this film is very reminiscent to that of Jekyll and Hyde. When she becomes JT LeRoy, she is very quiet and is very much afraid to say a word. However, as this story progresses, whenever we Stewart as Savannah, she becomes much more vocal and isn’t afraid to speak up. The more she gets involved with playing JT LeRoy, the more we see Savannah stick up for herself and lash out whether it be with Laura or with her boyfriend.

If you aren’t familiar with the story of JT LeRoy, Justin Kelly does an incredible job of retelling this story in a very entertaining and engaging way. The film, for the most part, sticks to the facts when recreating what happened between Laura and Savannah. The names of specific people have been changed in the film such as the character Ava played by Diana Kruger. Ava might be a fictional character, but a lot of what is shown in the movie is very similar to what occurred between LeRoy and Asia Argento in real life. The film does take a few liberties here and there but nothing that strays too far from the truth.

Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is a terrific little film about identity and celebrity. The story of JT LeRoy confirms the old saying that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern light up the screen and deliver two of their finest performances to date. If you are a fan of Stewart and/or Dern, I highly recommend seeking this one out when it is released later this year.

Digital Journal

Freud talked a lot about how people develop their personalities, what they consist of, and how they’re presented to the outside world. Many believe we are a sum of our experiences, while others think we can choose what people see. Identity is an essential part of the human existence, though its truth can often be debated — particularly whether one person can claim to have more than one identity. In Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, this is taken even further as two women begin to share a third identity.
Savannah (Kristen Stewart) just made the move from her childhood home to her brother’s (Jim Sturgess) old apartment in the city. He’s dating Laura (Laura Dern), an eccentric older woman, who is harbouring a secret: she’s written a New York Times bestseller under the guise of a tortured young man named J.T. LeRoy. Presented as a piece of non-fiction, Laura has projected this persona over the phone for months but declined all in-person requests. However, when this short-haired nymph enters her view, Laura sees the personification of J.T. and asks Savannah to pose for a photo to accompany an article about her nom de plume… then a photoshoot, followed by book reading and press conference in Paris. Suddenly, the snowball is gaining speed and girth, and people are getting steamrolled by their charade.

Post-Twilight, the leading couple have individually taken on challenging projects and proven they could do more than just sparkle and swoon. After Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, people couldn’t wait to see Stewart’s next outing — and she couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate role. Savannah preserves a “no curves” figure, binding her breasts and wearing loose, layered outfits. She doesn’t prescribe to a label, dates men and women, and is a perfect skin for the androgynous and introverted J.T. Unfortunately, beneath the exterior shell is still Savannah who can’t prevent her own feelings from getting rolled into J.T.’s affairs. Soon, there’s a tug-of-war between her and Laura regarding the ownership of the persona as each claims a different part of him.

There’s a fine line between having an additional public persona and being a fraud, and most people tend to side with their feelings of being deceived before an explanation can be provided. Laura is very conflicted about their scheme: she’s excited to witness the admiration for her work in person as she poses as J.T.’s obnoxious, British publicist, Speedy, but becomes upset as she’s pushed to the sidelines and Savannah’s personification of the writer is dragged less and less forcibly into the spotlight. However, Laura never wonders if what they’re doing is right because she’s convinced it’s fine since J.T. is her alter ego and convinces Savannah of the same.

Dern and Stewart have an excellent on-screen chemistry, whether they are mapping J.T.’s responses together or fighting about which of their representations is the true J.T. Dern’s vocal portrayal of her creation is generally delivered behind closed doors and comes off as reluctantly passionate, exemplifying the mistrust and need for obscurity that oozes from the book. Hiding behind blond wigs and big sunglasses, Stewart gradually learns to lose herself in this fragile survivor who connects with people in a way Savannah can’t; particularly an admiring French actress (Diane Kruger) who clings to the young writer as if he has life’s answers. But as time goes on, Laura and Savannah are both missing the other half of this stirring being and it’s all on the brink of falling apart.

Laura speaks a lot about J.T.’s existence sans body, which ignites this stimulating exploration of identity and what constitutes a real person versus a figment of one’s imagination.

Slash Film (excerpt)

Thankfully, Kelly has two sensational actresses front and center. Laura Dern plays Albert, delivering a manic, abrasive performance. Dern manages to make us both dislike Albert while also feeling sympathy for her. When we first meet her, she can’t sit still, and bulldozes over everyone with her words. As the movie progresses, however, we learn more and more about how damaged she is due to trauma from her past. We come to understand why she’s so committed to living a lie.

Kristen Stewart steals the show, though, as the conflicted Savannah. When we first meet her, Stewart’s Savannah is shy and nervous – a trait that translates well onto JT LeRoy’s withdrawn persona. But the more Savannah plays JT, the more confident she grows. Along the way, she find herself drawn to Eva (Diane Kruger), an actress and filmmaker based on real-life actress Asia Argento. Eva wants to adapt Sarah into a film, and she flirts with Savannah, as JT, while the movie deal is being worked out. Herein lies a problem: is Eva really attracted, or is she merely using her charms to lock down the film rights? And if she is really enamored, is she enamored with Savannah herself, or with the fictional JT LeRoy? Complicating matters is the fact that every time Savannah and Eva interact, Laura then calls up Eva and pretends to be JT.

Stewart handles all this confusing duplicity magnificently, portraying Savannah in a near-constant state of uneasy and uncertainty. The more she plays JT, the less she seems to know herself.

Twitter Reactions

TheOtherScottM Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is a unbelievable & fascinating look at identity & celebrity. Kristen Stewart delivers another spectacular performance in a role that she was born to play. Laura Dern’s portrayal of Laura Albert is on-point. A must see. #JeremiahTerminatorLeRoy #TIFF18

DCfilmgirl #JermiahTerminatorLeRoy is such an amazing story! Wow! And omg @LauraDern and Kristen Stewart are perfection in those roles. Perfect choice to play these unique, twisted and wild characters! Diane Kruger is also memorable. Is JTLeroy going to be one of my next cosplays? #TIFF18

ethanalter Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy: The script struggles w/the usual biopic tidiness and splitting time between the two leads. But Kristen Stewart’s turn as a woman exploring her sexuality by assuming another identity is excellent. Further confirmation she’s one of our best. #tiff2018

flickchickdc Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart were fantastic in #JeremiahTerminatorLeRoy! I loved their chemistry & both Dern and Stewart’s ability to portray such an insane story with realism instead of going off the hinges. And I cannot WAIT to see all of the Halloween costumes to come! #TIFF

dunerfors"Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy" - the bizarre true story about a fake author makes a very entertaining and often sad movie. Perfect casting of Kristen Stewart as Savannah/JT, Laura Dern is also fun. #TIFF18

intothecrevasse JEREMIAH TERMINATOR LEROY: not half bad as a movie about the JT Leroy story, fascinating as a movie about Kristen Stewart.

Cinesnark Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is Laura Dern doing her best kook and Kristen Stewart doing her best shy. Surprisingly grounded for such a wild story.

joeynolfi I counted nine wig changes between Laura Dern + Kristen Stewart in #JeremiahTerminatorLeRoy. There’s also a scene where Laura Dern — operating at peak Amy Jellicoe eccentricity — gifts Courtney Love onions and baked beans in a Neiman Marcus bag. #TIFF #TIFF18

blackfilm Just watched Jeremiah Terminator Leroy aka JT Leroy, where @kelvharrJR plays the boyfriend to #kristinstewart. Interesting story, where KS is obviously is the draw, but Laura Dern has fun with the role.