Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Review

106min

Genre:       Fact-based, Comedy, Crime, Drama

Director:    Marielle Heller

Cast:         Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Jane Curtin…and more

Writers:     Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

-Synopsis-

When her literary career begins to wane and her work no longer pays the bills, a prickly New York writer forms an alliance and unlikely friendship with a British scoundrel and creates a lucrative, deceptive and illegal sideline—forging personal letters from deceased prominent writers and artistic figures—in this comedic adaptation of the unrepentant memoirs of the late Lee Israel.

After suffering some standard movie development turmoil—which saw screenwriter Nicole Holofcener step down from the director’s chair and star Julianne Moore leave the project—this cinematic memoir of a miscreant, albeit a characterful white-collar one, finally took shape with actress-turned-director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) at the helm and Melissa McCarthy as the star in her first dramatic (albeit highly comical) role. The result delights us with an often hilarious and occasionally poignant portrait of a prickly personality and her notorious literary exploits . . . while capturing the imagination of the award show circuit along the way.

McCarthy stars as the blunt New York biographer Leonore ‘Lee’ Israel herself, a grumpy alcoholic loner with a difficult personality, whose writing career is on the downward slide as she struggles to make ends meet for her and her cat in early 90s New York city. But her fortunes change when she discovers the commercial potential of the private correspondence of notable artists, as she begins to forge personal letters from formidable figures while spicing up their supposed private lives—and developing an unlikely platonic friendship and partnership with free-spirited British scoundrel Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant) . . . before the net begins to close in on her crafty scam.

Hollywood has long had an established legacy of comic titans displaying real poignancy and nuance, or using the right material to transition into straight drama—from the days of Chaplin to the late, great Robin Williams, all the way to Steve Carell’s more recent career transformation. Now comedy favourite Melissa McCarthy takes full advantage of a tight script by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty and the talents of burgeoning filmmaker Heller, taking her first step into leading-lady drama territory . . . without sacrificing her own considerable comedy chops.

With ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ director Heller and the writers add an earthy charm and humour, plus both light and melancholy tones to the unlikely true story of an unrepentant criminal. A literary figure turned forger and fraudster who added spice and life to the often dry personal letters of celebrated figures, modifying the perception of  the likes of Noël Coward and Dorothy Parker while taking pride in it as some of her best work—and ultimately hardly paying for her crimes, instead profiting from them through the 2008 memoir which spawned this very film.

McCarthy is as outstanding as her award season nominations might suggest, making you sympathise with and care for, even love this curt, impatient persona with few airs & graces, who probably couldn’t care less about what you thought of her, and lest we forget was an unapologetic criminal—but also a clearly conflicted person who struggled with her sexuality and battled with some serious intimacy issues . . . and probably didn’t like herself much.

Meanwhile as larger-than-life, transient, loveable gay British scoundrel Jack Hock, Richard E. Grant delivers his most memorable performance since the first one which launched his career back in 1987, somewhat channelling his ‘Withnail & I’ character and once again proving a master of the grandiose movie substance abuser . . . which is rather ironic for a real life teetotaller.

Yet despite its many merits, ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ is far from faultless, or a modern masterpiece, taking its share of artistic license and combining it with an unmerited focus on Lee Israel’s sexuality—which was neither hidden nor a focal point for her—to crowbar the film into timely socially conscious territory, even unnecessarily creating a fictional albeit subtle romantic interest. The tone of the film also sits somewhere innocuously between drama and comedy, weighted more towards humour but not proving consistently uproarious, while only ever flirting with real pathos and never really tugging at any heartstrings.

Ultimately though, Heller & co. largely nail the formula by effectively blending praiseworthy performances and a solid simple script with plenty of charm and a sound dose of attitude, delighting us with a thoroughly enjoyable tale of misdeeds, while expanding its star’s Hollywood horizons and elevating the profile of another promising female director—who teams up with Tom Hanks to tell the story of ‘Mister Rogers’ in ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ later this year.

The Bottom Line…

An often hilarious and occasionally touching portrait of a prickly personality, and a spirited and delightful tale of an unrepentant literary miscreant, ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ is a tight and expertly conceived biographical dramedy which might not be the best advert for the ‘crime doesn’t pay’ philosophy, but will capture your imagination and entertain you from start to finish.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Lady in the Van (2015)

British film adaptation of the autobiographical play by Alan Bennett, starring Maggie Smith as an eccentric and ornery transient elderly lady who lived in a battered van on his driveway and with whom he develops an unlikely bond.

Directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings and Jim Broadbent among others.

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