J.T. LeRoy or Laura Albert or whoever wrote the collection of stories that created Jeremiah would probably take umbrage with Screenwriter/Director Asia Argento for turning Jeremiah's life of abuse and angst into a biography of Sarah, the mother who gave birth to Jeremiah at age 14 only to relinquish him to foster homes while she lead her life as a truck stop lizard and drug addict. While Asia Argento has impressive credentials as both actress and filmmaker in Italy, her on screen performance in this self-directed film is excessively focused on her and leaves the child of the stories as a mere sidebar.
Much of the story line that ran through the book has been abandoned, probably due to the fact that few child actors could be asked to enact the bizarre and distorted things that Jeremiah did. Gone is the cross-dressing, the prostitution, and much of the other behavioral defects that peppered the pages of the novel. Instead we see a child claimed from a satisfactory foster home by a mother who jumps from one abusive lover to the next, leaving Jeremiah to fend for himself by eating out of garbage cans, living in slums and being at the beck and call of Sarah's consistently disgusting paramours. When Jeremiah is raped by one of Sarah's men he is sent to live with his crazed Bible belt grandparents where he is brainwashed into a zealot along with his cousins. He eventually is 're-rescued' by Sarah and once again the pointless existence presses on. There is no ending as there were/are further books to come.
Asia Argento creates a fairly one-dimensional portrait of Sarah, that of a wasted bit of scum obedient only to her libido and drug needs. Yes, she fled from her parent's religious suffocation, but other than that we have no insight as to her behavior. The boys who portray Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett, Cole and Dylan Sprouse) are just a bit too scrubbed and proper for the role and again we see little in the way of depth of character as Argento adapted the book. There are very brief bit parts by a number of fine actors (one wonders why they wanted to do this) such as Kip Pardue (as buff as you'll ever see him!), Winona Ryder, Michael Pitt, Peter Fonda, Marilyn Mason, Ben Foster, Jeremy Renner, and Jeremy Sisto but their appearances are strong despite the fleeting seconds in which they inhabit the screen.
The 'form follows function' rule certainly applies here: the story is shot is choppy, rancid colored, disorienting pieces that follow the style of the storytelling. The music is, well, loud and for the most part covers the dialogue (not always a bad thing). This is an 'art film' and one that takes patience to endure, but considering the great hoopla that accompanied the discovery of the 'J.T LeRoy' scandal, it probably merits watching. For this viewer the film should have just been called 'Sarah - a tour de force for Asia Argento'. Incidental information: the opening of the DVD is a multi-actor plea for support for ONE.org, a group of actors speaking out against poverty. It proves to be the most inspiring part of the disc! Grady Harp
