Review of Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) by Bertaut1 — 12 Feb 2019

Unexpectedly emotional, with a towering central performance.

Directed by Marielle Heller, with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener (who was originally attached to direct) and Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is based on Lee Israel's 2008 memoir. Taking the form of a buddy crime caper in which two mismatched rogues are thrown together by circumstances, if you strip away the easily-digestible/easily-marketable surface, you'll find that Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a surprisingly moving study of loneliness. Set in New York in 1991, the film tells the story of Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy), formerly a best-selling biographer, who turned to forging letters from deceased celebrities to make ends meet. However, what it's really about is two exceptionally flawed people - Israel and her only friend, Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant). Funny in places, the film is very much anchored by its two leads, who show us that behind the acerbic façade these two people have constructed for themselves, they are vulnerable, lonely, scared, and crying out for meaningful human companionship.

Absolutely committing to her performance, Melissa McCarthy completely immerses herself in Israel, in what is easily her best role to date. Helped in no small part by Arjun Bhasin's frumpy costume design and Linda D. Flowers's less-than-flattering hairstyling, Israel seems organically fused to Stephen H. Carter's production design, with her world one of dirty browns, dark beiges, and neutralising greys. Both the film and McCarthy lean into the fact that Israel is such a contentious, contrary, and unlikable individual. In an early scene at a party, for example, Israel steals toilet rolls, some shrimp, and someone's jacket. At one point, her exacerbated agent, Marjorie (Jane Curtin) tells her, "either become a nicer person or make a name for yourself. As an unknown, you can't be such a b---h.".

However, what makes the performance so good is that no matter how cruel Israel is, no matter how irreverent and combative, her loneliness is always there to see, making it difficult to dislike her as much as we should. Yes, her exterior is prickly and calloused, but it serves to cover up not insignificant pain. Yes, she can be unjustifiably misanthropic, but she's also extremely vulnerable. McCarthy plays Israel as her own worst enemy, a deeply sad woman, whose acerbity is both a cause and a result of her situation.

She's perfectly matched by Richard E. Grant, who plays Jack as a rouge's rouge, difficult to pin down (when Lee asks him what he does, he replies, "oh, this and that. Mainly that"), a mischievous shark-ish smile permanently on his face, never one to let minor things like homelessness or drug addiction get him down. Their chemistry is perfectly modulated, and their scenes together (which take up about half of the film) are so well written and performed, so hilariously denigrating and quick-witted, you'd be happy to sit there watching them all day.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the pride that Israel takes in the forgeries. Yes, it's criminal, but she takes the work very seriously and is proud of the results. When Jack mentions what she's doing is not dissimilar to the Hitler Diaries, she momentarily beams with pride. At a later point, when Jack expresses disdain for the importance of the forgeries, Israel chastises him, telling him the letters are "a portal into a better time and a better place when people still respected the written word", following this up with the curt, "respect what you're selling". She may be a criminal, but she has reverence for what she does.

Interestingly, in the book, Israel says she was uncomfortable with the fact that due to increased scrutiny on the part of buyers, she had to start stealing real letters from archives, replacing them with forgeries, and then selling the originals. Thus, the creative element of her work was lost - all she was doing was copying from one page to another. Indeed, when the film depicts this phase of her forgeries, it does so dispassionately, void of the sense of fun which had been very apparent up to this point.

Aesthetically, the film is gorgeous in how drab it looks. Equally as impressive as the production design, wardrobe, and hair, is Brandon Trost's cinematography. It's rare that you see a film where it literally feels cold, as if the weather has somehow gotten into the texture of the celluloid. This damp and dreary New York is a million miles from the more romantic depictions of the city we're so used to seeing.

This is a film about fundamentally broken people trying to put themselves back together. What on the surface is a caper dramedy is, in fact, a much deeper and more observant study of human frailties, and a paean to the importance of friendship. McCarthy gives a monumental performance, and hopefully, it will lead to more dramatic roles down the line.