''Jay Myself'' is a 2018 American
documentary film directed by
Stephen Wilkes
Stephen Wilkes (born October 28, 1957) is an American photographer, photojournalist, director and fine artist. In 2009 he began work on the project, ''Day to Night.'' Featuring epic cityscapes and landscapes portrayed from a fixed camera angle fo ...
, produced by his wife, Bette Wilkes, and written by Josh Alexander.
Synopsis
The film chronicles the days during which renowned photographer
Jay Maisel decides to sell his long-time New York home, the historic six-story former
Germania Bank Building on
the Bowery, for $55 million dollars. The documentary tells the story of how Maisel obtained this property in 1967. The film starts with Maisel having only five months left until his building will be sold. During these months he is sorting through 72 rooms, showcasing a collection of
VHS tapes, special-sized screws, and of course, the photographs for which he was famous.
Cast
*
Jay Maisel as himself
*
Stephen Wilkes
Stephen Wilkes (born October 28, 1957) is an American photographer, photojournalist, director and fine artist. In 2009 he began work on the project, ''Day to Night.'' Featuring epic cityscapes and landscapes portrayed from a fixed camera angle fo ...
as himself
*Amanda Maisel as herself
Production and screening
The production began with Wilkes, back then a photographer himself, getting acquainted with Maisel in 1979, and soon after becoming his close friend, assistant and mentee.
[ The film was shot in 2015.]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has approval rating based on reviews, with an average ranking of . On Metacritic, ''Jay Myself'' have a rank of 74 out of a 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
John DeFore of '' The Hollywood Reporter'' called ''Jay Myself'' "A fascinating look at an artist's life",[ while ]Glenn Kenny
Glenn Kenny (born August 8, 1959) is an American film critic and journalist. He writes for '' The New York Times'' and ''RogerEbert.com''.
Biography
Kenny attended William Paterson University, where he majored in English literature. of '' The New York Times'' stated simply "It's a fun journey".
'' Variety''s Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
praised the narration, writing "Wilke views his old mentor with affection, but with a supreme awareness of what a crazy-charismatic crank he can be".[
Nick Allen of '']RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
'' had a different opinion. He wrote: "Whether this is all for the sake of art or not, it can be too nauseating to peer into from the outside".
According to Derek Smith of ''Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'', "Jay Maisel's former home suggests a bastion of creativity in a neighborhood whose rough edges have been completely sanded down".
Leah Pickett of ''Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
'' wrote in her closing comments that " the end, the viewer might find herself both feeling the loss at the center of Maisel and Wilkes's letting-go process and craving a similar grotto of her own".
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, 8890074
Jay Maisel – Jay Myself – A DocumentaryJay Myself on Oscilloscope
2018 documentary films
American documentary films
Films about photographers
Films set in 2015
2010s English-language films
2010s American films