Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The other new film I caught at the cinema this week was Can You Ever Forgive Me? (directed by Marielle Heller), which the critics acclaim more highly than Green Book. Having set myself up for disappointment (due to high expectations), disappointment is precisely what I experienced, though I did enjoy the film.

In yet another film based on a true story, Melissa McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a biography writer living in Manhattan who is struggling to pay the bills. When she sees how much money she can get by selling interesting letters from famous authors to collectors, she can begins to write these letters herself as a way of making ends meet. She is eventually aided in this enterprise by a homeless friend (Jack Hock, played by Richard E. Grant). A key factor in their friendship is that both Lee and Jack are gay. 

Lee also befriends a local bookseller (Anna, played by Dolly Wells), though Lee struggles with her feelings for Anna, especially since Anna is one of those whom she is defrauding. In Lee’s eyes, the only true friend she has is her cat, but the cat is sick. Eventually, Lee’s crimes start to catch up to her, and she has to become ever more creative in her schemes.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a well-written and well-directed film featuring terrific performances by McCarthy and Grant as well as excellent cinematography and a good score. But its subject matter and story didn’t engage me at anywhere near the level that Green Book‘s did and it wasn’t helpful that this film is called a comedy when it is actually a solid drama with moments of dry humour. 

Can You Ever Forgive Me? gets a solid ***+. My mug is up.