We've had a lot of biopics about youngsters fighting drug addiction and coming to terms with their sexuality this season, some better than others. They've all generally followed the same pattern of angst and uplift, with a lot of emotional upheaval. Maybe that's why I find "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" so refreshing, a story about two unabashed homosexual alcoholics in New York, who spend the whole movie conning and ripping off everyone they can.
It's New York City in the mid-1980s, and biographer Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) has hit a rough patch. Her latest book isn't selling, she's just been fired from her job, her agent Marjorie (Jane Curtin) is ignoring her, and her beloved cat is sick. With an abrasive personality and general distaste for polite company, Lee's only friend is a British grifter named Jack (Richard E. Grant), who she drinks with regularly. After hocking a prized Katherine Hepburn letter to pay the bills, Lee stumbles upon a lucrative new scheme. She can put her literary talents to work forging letters from famous figures like Noel Coward and Marlene Dietrich, and sell them to memorabilia collectors for hefty sums.
There's a lot of Woody Allen in the New York of "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" with its distinctive neighborhoods, talk of literary luminaries, and nostalgic score. However, Lee Israel is a brash misanthrope who is long past caring what people think of her, and very much reflects the writing of Nicole Holofcener, the direction of Marielle Heller, and of course the acting chops of Melissa McCarthy. And it's impossible to look at Richard E. Grant in this movie and not think that Jack might be Withnail from "Withnail & I..."if he'd moved to New York and embraced being a proper queen. Lee and Jack don't have time to angst and monologue about their situations, and being sympathetic is a luxury they can't afford. Survival means scrounging for every dollar and taking advantage of every opportunity they can. And they're absolutely delightful doing it.
It's a lot of fun watching Lee being terrible, but the movie works as well as it does because the filmmakers are so good about ensuring that she is also very relatable. The script rarely gets into specifics, but there are just enough hints and allusions to help paint a picture of complicated circumstances and intriguing connections. Lee seems to live in the detritus of a once far more glamorous life, and has clearly burned a lot of bridges. Melissa McCarthy's performance is one of her best, deftly deploying Lee's sharp tongue and arsenal of cranky defense mechanisms, but also showing how lost and hurt she often is underneath. Lee is at her happiest when she's being a fangirl, laboring over her letters with real care and affection. Passages from several of her greatest hits are read aloud, just enough to give the viewer a taste of Lee's talents. Richard E. Grant is also clearly having a ball here as the flamboyant Jack, and he and McCarthy have great chemistry together.
"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" avoids poking too much fun at the culture of the memorabilia market, preferring to keep its attentions on Lee and Jack's hijinks. However, I love the nostalgic depiction of the old bookstores and book sellers, and a bygone New York literary culture where it was possible for Lee Israel to make a living for a time writing biographies of notable women. Everyone in the movie seems to be in love with the written word. It doesn't matter if you have no idea who Dorothy Parker or Fanny Brice are. It's the excited reactions of the well-cast ensemble that get the point across.
I find myself comparing the film to "I, Tonya," another biopic about a difficult woman with a notable criminal career. "Forgive Me?" may be a gentler and less flashy film, but it shares the same underlying goal of letting a notorious figure have her say. And though it feels very strange to call this a feel-good picture, I came out of it happier than I've been with the majority of the prestige pics this season. There's nothing especially weighty or important or timely about the crimes of Lee Israel in 2019, not really. However, it's a fascinating story, well told, and well worth taking the time to see.
---
No comments:
Post a Comment