Portrait of Jason is a 1967 experimental documentary film directed by Shirley Clarke.
It is a feature length interview of Jason Holliday, aka Aaron Payne (1924-1998), a friend of Clarke's. Holliday, a gay black man, had an eventful, tumultuous life with experiences that ranged from domestic servant to male prostitute to stage performer. The whole movie takes place in the living room of Holliday's New York City apartment, and it was shot over 12 hours in one single evening and night. Holliday, the only person to appear onscreen, talks about his life. Clarke and her partner Carl Lee are heard offscreen, conducting the interview, giving Holliday prompts, and becoming more confrontational as the film heads towards a conclusion.
Compare Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World, a much more conventional Clarke documentary about the poet Robert Frost.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Jason is smiling and cheerful as he recounts how his father beat him on a daily basis.
- All Gays Love Theatre: Of course they do! Jason winds up performing a number from Funny Girl.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: If Jason is to be believed, one of the psychiatrists he visits has a rather unprofessional interest in the size of Jason's penis.
- Camp Gay: The sashaying, the finger snapping, the quoting of Broadway musicals—yep, Jason's pretty camp.
- Close on Title: "Portrait of Jason - Copyright 1967 - Shirley Clarke" at the bottom of the distributor's card at the very end is the film's only credit.
- Drugs Are Good: Jason says that getting high helped him deal with the drudgery and indignities of life as a domestic servant.
- The End: Ends with Clarke, offscreen, saying "The end. The end. That's it, it's over. The end."
- The Faceless: Shirley Clarke and Carl Lee can be heard firing questions at Jason and prompting him to tell stories, but they never appear onscreen.
- In Vino Veritas: Jason is constantly sipping scotch (and also rolls and smokes a joint in one scene), which obviously fuels his candor.
- Leave the Camera Running: For the whole movie, as it's nothing more than a series of shots as Jason Holliday talks. The only scene transitions come when the camera goes momentarily out of focus.
- Really Gets Around: "I've been balling from Maine to Mexico."
- Tension-Cutting Laughter: Jason's constant laughing when he talks about the more uncomfortable parts of his life.
- That Man Is Dead: The former Aaron Payne says that Jason Holliday is an identity he created after moving to San Francisco. He calls people who insist on addressing him as Aaron "evil."
- Visible Boom Mic: Happens briefly mid-film.
