Watch Portrait of Jason

Portrait of Jason is an experimental documentary film directed by Shirley Clarke in 1967. The film records a night in the life of Jason Holliday, an African-American hustler, drag queen, and aspiring nightclub performer. The movie takes place in Clarke's New York apartment, where she invited Jason to spend the evening and share his story with the camera.

The premise of the movie is simple: Clarke turns the camera on Jason, records his monologue over the course of several hours, and gradually reveals his character and life experiences. Jason talks about his past, his ambitions, his sexuality, and his relationship with drugs and alcohol. Throughout the movie, he moves between humor, melancholy, defensiveness, and bravado, creating a complex portrait of a human being.

However, what makes Portrait of Jason unusual is not only its subject matter but also its style and structure. The movie is not edited into a linear narrative but rather into a collage of scenes, jump-cuts, and loops that create a fragmented, dream-like quality. Jason's monologue is not the only audio in the movie but is often interrupted by Clarke's off-screen voice and the sounds of the crew, creating a layer of invisibility to the production.

Moreover, the movie is self-reflexive, as it blurs the line between documentary and performance, between reality and fiction. Jason, aware of the camera, often plays to it, exaggerating his behavior or slipping into impersonations. Clarke occasionally challenges him, contradicts him, or pushes him, exposing the constructed nature of the situation. The movie becomes not only a portrait of Jason but also a reflection on power dynamics, representation, and truth in documentary filmmaking.

However, Portrait of Jason is not just an intellectual exercise in aesthetics and ethics but also, and primarily, a compassionate portrayal of a marginalized figure. Jason's charisma, wit, and vulnerability make him a captivating presence on the screen, and Clarke's empathetic direction brings his humanity to the forefront. The movie does not shy away from the harsh realities of Jason's life, but it also celebrates his resilience, creativity, and spirit.

In that sense, Portrait of Jason is a unique and important film in the history of queer cinema, African-American representation, and avant-garde documentary filmmaking. It captures a moment in time and space that speaks both to the specificities of Jason's life and to the universal themes of identity, survival, and expression. The movie challenges the viewer's preconceptions and assumptions about race, class, gender, and sexuality, and invites them to see the world through Jason's eyes.

Overall, Portrait of Jason is not an easy watch, nor is it a typical movie. It requires a certain level of patience, openness, and engagement from the viewer, as it unfolds in its own idiosyncratic rhythm. However, for those who are willing to enter its world, it offers a rich and rewarding experience that lingers long after the credits roll.

Portrait of Jason is a 1967 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 47 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1 and a MetaScore of 87.