Ever wonder what happens to the winners of competition-driven reality shows like Project Runway and Top Chef? Do you think about how the winner copes when challenges and series-related drama are distant memories, and how they take advantage of the awards allotted to them?
Unfortunately, Eleven Minutes doesn't show a side of its very appealing subject that we haven't already seen on the series. The doc is, at best, an extension of the series. It's riveting to see how Jay is "hip-pocketed" by his business partners in the cutthroat world of fashion. That's fancy speak for "his people" working gratis, believing his star is on the rise and that they will eventually be doubly compensated for their efforts. He is surrounded by fashion bigwigs, but McCarroll never takes himself or them too seriously. That's why it's so enthralling when he verbally spars with his partners and constantly questions his place on planet couture. The doc would be even more of a "can't look away" spectacle if the filmmakers probed McCarroll in a more revelatory way.
It's clear McCarroll is drowning in his own talent, but like a gaggle of designers and other fashion personalities, his skill and his brilliance is sometimes overshadowed by his self-destructive personality. Jay is high-maintenance and can be a bit much to handle. He makes you wish he had a pause button, but he reels you into his world and doesn't let you go.
The film displays the inherent struggle between art and commerce, highlighting the designer's dilemma about how to mass-produce stylish, quality threads for common women and trendsetters alike. Here, the camera settles smack dab in the center of McCarroll's universe as he and his handlers work diligently to produce his first collection. We see Jay pouring over his design sketches, his aesthetic (he proudly admits that he works monochromatically in a "matchy matchy" way), and his off-the-beaten-path inspirational sources, such as architecture and buildings.
Eleven Minutes, a reference to the length of a runway show in the fashion world, is a raw documentary that looks at the semi-stunted post-show life of Project Runway's Season One winner, the fabulous, self-doubting, self-deprecating drama magnet Jay McCarroll, who appears to be doing less career-wise than subsequent seasons' contestants. Jay's slow-go at following up to his heavily publicized win is a worthwhile story, but this documentary doesn't dig deep enough.
The gonzo nature of the doc is often acknowledged when Jay breaks the fourth wall and addresses the camera, which closes the hole between viewer and subject. Novice fashion fans will devour every moment of this documentary. To its credit, the film does inform when it captures the step-by-step insider process that goes into developing a fashion show and actually selling clothes as a vendor.
McCarroll's squabbles with his publicist and manager provide the extent of the tension and drama, but these beats are but thin plot strains. McCarroll, existing on the fringe of the industry, gives a unique bird's-eye-view of his world, but save for the final fashion show, the doc is a bit anti-climactic. McCarroll deserved better than a surface-scratching look at his career.
