Every Oscar season, there's always one movie that unites virtually every film fan and pundit. There's rarely more than one, because too many universally acclaimed titles would just be too much for the season to handle. But amid the discord and the divisiveness of the race, one movie rises above the rest. In 2017, Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird earned unanimous praise for its wonderfully told coming-of-age narrative- in my initial tweet, I'm pretty sure I said it was impossible to dislike. This year, I have a feeling Marielle Heller's Can You Ever Forgive Me? will be the next film to unite critics, audiences, and everyone in between, earning the most unlikely of Oscar season distinctions. Even with its considerable amount of acidity and meanness, Heller's portrait of a desperate celebrity biographer is, for lack of a better phrase, basically impossible to dislike.
In a welcome shift from her recent string of comedic flops (looking at you, Life of the Party and Happytime Murders), Melissa McCarthy takes on the role of Lee Israel, a writer with a focus on chronicling the lives of famous figures. But if you didn't already guess, the world of celebrity biographies is not a particularly profitable business- and it doesn't help when you like cats more than people. According to literary agent Marjorie (Jane Curtin), Lee has destroyed every contact in the industry with her insults and infuriated demeanor. Several months behind on her rent and with a variety of additional debts to pay, Marjorie gives one piece of advice to her struggling client: find something else to do with your life.
While doing research for her new book on legendary vaudeville star Fanny Brice, Lee stumbles upon an old letter from Brice to a friend. In desperate need of cash, the biographer takes the letter directly to bookstore owner Anna (Dolly Wells), who offers her a decent chunk of change for the literary treasure. But she mentions something important to Lee- if the content is better, the prices will be higher. Of course, that's when her big idea arrives. Along with friend and associate Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant), Lee dives head-first into the world of literary forgeries, doctoring fake letters from celebrities and selling them to the highest bidder. It's an easy paycheck, but how long will it last before Lee gets caught?
Can You Ever Forgive Me? elicits a very specific mood of snowy, booze-soaked desperation, and it maintains that feeling for basically the entire running time. The film opens with the sound of ice banging around in a whiskey glass, setting the tone and hitting the ground running. Director Heller aims for melancholy, and she succeeds with a level of atmospheric consistency we rarely see in this kind of Oscar dramedy. The film is mellow and low-key in an interesting way, but with the assistance of the New York setting and the combination of Nate Heller's score and a very solid soundtrack, there's an odd and beautiful sense of grandeur to the proceedings. It helps that Heller is working with such a specific color palette, a mix of browns and grays that eventually takes on a life of its own.
Yet even with such strong craftsmanship across the board, it's impossible to imagine this working quite so well without Nicole Holofcener (who was originally going to direct this film with Julianne Moore in the lead role) and Jeff Whitty's tremendous script. Here we have a story that is somehow both delightfully playful and quietly tragic, led by characters who are capable of being acidic and likable, often at the same time. It's a risky concoction that shouldn't work, but it's accomplished with startling ease. Heller and the screenwriters allow the film plenty of room to breathe, paying equal attention to the nuances of the characters and the sly deception at the story's core. At its heart, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is such an astute character piece, incorporating a detailed examination of sexuality and loneliness.
Naturally, this is impossible without the final piece of the puzzle: the one-two punch of McCarthy and Grant. As Lee and Jack, they're the screen duo of the year; it's rare to see two actors with this kind of chemistry. On their own, McCarthy and Grant deliver tremendous performances. The former leans into every element of Lee's complex personality- her anger and bitterness, her resistance to personal relationships, the warmth and humor that emerges on random occasions. Grant is the scene-stealer as the openly gay Jack, but the film is never content to let the character stay on the sidelines. His own insecurities emerge as Lee pushes him to his limits, and Grant embraces it with no hesitation.
Together, they light up the screen with their verbal barbs and quiet admiration for each other. When the film comes to a close, Lee and Jack share a scene that nearly brought a tear to my eye; no spoilers here, but it's such a perfect encapsulation of everything that makes this relationship special. With its vulgar witticisms and prickly sense of humor serving as the cherry on top, Can You Ever Forgive Me? feels like such a complete and fully realized picture. If anyone walks out unsatisfied, I'll be seriously perplexed.
THE FINAL GRADE: A- (8.4/10)
Images courtesy of Fox Searchlight
In a welcome shift from her recent string of comedic flops (looking at you, Life of the Party and Happytime Murders), Melissa McCarthy takes on the role of Lee Israel, a writer with a focus on chronicling the lives of famous figures. But if you didn't already guess, the world of celebrity biographies is not a particularly profitable business- and it doesn't help when you like cats more than people. According to literary agent Marjorie (Jane Curtin), Lee has destroyed every contact in the industry with her insults and infuriated demeanor. Several months behind on her rent and with a variety of additional debts to pay, Marjorie gives one piece of advice to her struggling client: find something else to do with your life.
While doing research for her new book on legendary vaudeville star Fanny Brice, Lee stumbles upon an old letter from Brice to a friend. In desperate need of cash, the biographer takes the letter directly to bookstore owner Anna (Dolly Wells), who offers her a decent chunk of change for the literary treasure. But she mentions something important to Lee- if the content is better, the prices will be higher. Of course, that's when her big idea arrives. Along with friend and associate Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant), Lee dives head-first into the world of literary forgeries, doctoring fake letters from celebrities and selling them to the highest bidder. It's an easy paycheck, but how long will it last before Lee gets caught?
Can You Ever Forgive Me? elicits a very specific mood of snowy, booze-soaked desperation, and it maintains that feeling for basically the entire running time. The film opens with the sound of ice banging around in a whiskey glass, setting the tone and hitting the ground running. Director Heller aims for melancholy, and she succeeds with a level of atmospheric consistency we rarely see in this kind of Oscar dramedy. The film is mellow and low-key in an interesting way, but with the assistance of the New York setting and the combination of Nate Heller's score and a very solid soundtrack, there's an odd and beautiful sense of grandeur to the proceedings. It helps that Heller is working with such a specific color palette, a mix of browns and grays that eventually takes on a life of its own.
Yet even with such strong craftsmanship across the board, it's impossible to imagine this working quite so well without Nicole Holofcener (who was originally going to direct this film with Julianne Moore in the lead role) and Jeff Whitty's tremendous script. Here we have a story that is somehow both delightfully playful and quietly tragic, led by characters who are capable of being acidic and likable, often at the same time. It's a risky concoction that shouldn't work, but it's accomplished with startling ease. Heller and the screenwriters allow the film plenty of room to breathe, paying equal attention to the nuances of the characters and the sly deception at the story's core. At its heart, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is such an astute character piece, incorporating a detailed examination of sexuality and loneliness.
Naturally, this is impossible without the final piece of the puzzle: the one-two punch of McCarthy and Grant. As Lee and Jack, they're the screen duo of the year; it's rare to see two actors with this kind of chemistry. On their own, McCarthy and Grant deliver tremendous performances. The former leans into every element of Lee's complex personality- her anger and bitterness, her resistance to personal relationships, the warmth and humor that emerges on random occasions. Grant is the scene-stealer as the openly gay Jack, but the film is never content to let the character stay on the sidelines. His own insecurities emerge as Lee pushes him to his limits, and Grant embraces it with no hesitation.
Together, they light up the screen with their verbal barbs and quiet admiration for each other. When the film comes to a close, Lee and Jack share a scene that nearly brought a tear to my eye; no spoilers here, but it's such a perfect encapsulation of everything that makes this relationship special. With its vulgar witticisms and prickly sense of humor serving as the cherry on top, Can You Ever Forgive Me? feels like such a complete and fully realized picture. If anyone walks out unsatisfied, I'll be seriously perplexed.
THE FINAL GRADE: A- (8.4/10)
Images courtesy of Fox Searchlight
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