Directed by Marielle Heller and starring Melissa McCarthy in rare dramatic role (and one of her best performances yet), Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a movie not afraid to focus on people who are unattractive and unpleasant, inside and out.
Based on true events, Melissa McCarthy plays writer Lee Israel, a biographer of women such as Estee Lauder and Fanny Brice. Struggling financially because no one wants to buy her biographies, Lee begins to forge private letters written by famous folks such as Noel Coward and Dorothy Parker and sell them to collectors for outrageous sums. It's clear that Lee is a clever writer, and she feels she's finally found her niche in faking these droll and gossipy missives.
Her bad behavior is spurred on by an old friend who pops back into her life (and onto the barstool next to her at the dive they frequent to drink their troubles away). Richard E. Grant is hilarious as Jack Hock, playing the drunk devil on Lee's shoulder and quickly becoming her partner in crime when rare bookstores and collectors catch on to Lee's forgeries.
You would think that Can You Ever Forgive Me? would be a depressing and unpleasant film, given that the main characters are depressed and unpleasant. But the film is surprisingly forgiving and understanding of its misfit protagonists. It reminded me a bit of Sideways, in which Paul Giamati's grumpy, arrogant oenophile and Thomas Haden Church's adulterous horndog groom-to-be won our hearts despite engaging in embarrassing and bad behavior. Likewise, you can't help but root--on some level, at least--for McCarthy's nasty loner Lee and Grant's lascivious, ne'er-do-well Jack.
When the two are finally caught (Jack cooperates with the FBI and testifies against Lee in exchange for a lighter sentence), it's a relief that Lee is only sentenced to probation and house arrest (especially since house arrest is barely a punishment for a woman who only leaves her house to go a bars). She gets a measure of redemption and, we hope, a kick in the butt to take control of her life (I mean, she wrote the memoir this movie is based on, so that's pretty cool).
Another thing that's really cool about Can You Ever Forgive Me? is that's it's very queer without being about being queer. Jack Hock is gay and flirts openly with young, attractive men but that's only part of his character, not his defining trait. Likewise, Lee casually mentions a woman she used to live with, but who dumped her when Lee wouldn't open up emotionally. At the end of the film, it's clear that Jack is suffering from AIDS, although the word is never mentioned (context clues and the time period let the viewer know). I just find this really revolutionary because usually films where the main characters are gay tend to be all about being gay rather than about the people's lives outside of (or in addition to) their sexuality.
But that's the thing about Can You Ever Forgive Me? --it's, in a word, low-key. It's honestly a great film that never feels like it's rubbing its greatness in your face, and that's what I liked about it. Unlike so many movies that come out the gate begging for an Oscar, Can You Ever Forgive Me? feels like it couldn't care less if it won any awards or not. Like that well-worn brown sweater in your closet, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is unpretentious, unglamorous, yet comfortable as hell and oddly soothing.
Grade: A
No comments:
Post a Comment