Jason Lancaster

Directed by Shirley Clarke

Originally shown in 1967, Portrait of Jason is seen as a landmark documentary and a flagship for Clarke. Filmed constantly over the course of a night and edited to length, Clarke simply asks Jason Holliday about his life as a black male prostitute. As Jason explains his life as the night goes on, he shows more and more sides of his personality. Portrait of Jason is a must see for people watchers.

This film is an interesting study of human psyche, but for anyone but the most studious psychology student, it soon becomes a bore. The style and idea Clarke uses is unprecedented but actually watching someone tell their life story, even a very colorful one like Jason’s, can be too much. One should also question the true emotions captured toward the end of the film. Jason has been up all night drinking and smoking when someone else off camera starts to interrogate him in an attempt to make a better ending to the film. I found this film to be unique and insightful as far as film theory goes but a bore for any practical purpose.