Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Lee Israel's writing career has hit the skids, forcing her to work odd jobs to make a living. In spite of the fact that she's poor and can't even afford her rent and to pay for her cat's care at the vet, she always has money to hit the bar. Funny. She complains to her super about a fly infestation when in fact it's all her fault because she wouldn't even properly clean her apartment. Watching the movie for a bit, you start to realize her problem isn't falling on hard times, it's that she is a vile person who was predisposed to criminal behavior one way or the other. I rarely find instances where criminals did what they did to survive. More often, it's because they felt they were entitled to a certain standard of living and would do anything to achieve it. See Billy McFarland of Fyre Festival. Am I wrong about criminals? I'd like to believe so, but my present career keeps proving me wrong. What's worse is, cops often keep missing some of the worst offenders. I can't give this movie a good review at all. I'm wise to the garbage Hollywood makes now.

I usually don't end up liking Melissa McCarthy films. She is usually in comedies directed by her husband that aren't funny and have nothing good going for it. I was intrigued in seeing her take on a more serious role and one based on an actual biographical person than a made up "funny" person. I never heard of Lee Israel or the case of her forgery and all the stuff she got away with so I wanted to learn more about this. I enjoyed this film. Its not anything that's gonna stick out when the year ends but for a one time watch its fine, and I can finally say I enjoyed a McCarthy performance quite a bit. The film is about the real life story of down out of luck biographical author, Lee Israel. Her books aren't doing well and she finds it hard to find inspiration. She can't afford rent or veterinarian care for her sick cat. She decides to forge letters signed and typed up by famous entertainment personalities. At first she finds the scam to be lucrative but eventually the buyers become suspicious and the FBI get involved. The film basically tells the tale of her forgery, until she gets caught, and the aftermath. McCarthy does a good job here. She doesn't completely disappear into the role but its a believable performance that showcases her best qualities. The film is proficient in mixing comedy with humor and brings forth a rather intriguing plot in a way that keeps you engaged. I already liked Marielle Heller as The Diary of a Teenage Girl was a really interesting and well made film as it was. I think she finds a penchant for storytelling that mixes humor and drama well. Its easy to see why something like this would have been easy to get away with in an earlier time. Its an idea people wouldn't easily think of. Crime doesn't pay, after a while anyways. If you want to see a solid biopic and an even more solid Melissa McCarthy performance then this is your film. its not anything amazing but its a generally interesting tale about a shady author that you may not have known about. 7/10

I bought Israel's, Kilgallen back in the 70s. One of the best books I'd ever read. The book's subject was compelling & Lee's writing sublime. Of course I then sought out her Bankhead book & enjoyed that too. I also ran out & purchased the Lauder book. This one seemed, unnecessary. Should've been a lengthy article. I then spent years searching for new work. Could never understand why a great writer wasn't writing. Of course, I then found CYEFM. I'm just thrilled that she's been immortalized in film. Also love that many of "her" letters are out there.

What a waste of time. Sat thru it to look at performances (which were good)...but WHY waste time telling such a story about a despicable person. Cheater, liar, nasty and mean. It is all in the movie... - I doubt it will make much $ which is fine with me. If you want to waste time watching (you are suppose to feel "sorry" for her)...go for it.

I didn't know what to expect with this film. I was very pleasantly surprised. This movie is not a comedy and the performers did a great job of capturing people who are not always made for this world. Melissa McCarthy gives a impressive performance as Lee Israel and Richard Grant is wonderful as her ne'er do well friend and accomplice. I really like the atmosphere and the ability to capture the grit and seediness of New York in the early 90's. Marielle Heller and McCarthy did a fantastic job of taking someone with all the likability of my mother in law and making her sympathetic.

The celebrity biographer Lee Israel was in her own way an expert spinner of "alternative facts" and "fake news" decades before both became commonplace in the digital age. Plenty of people who should have known better were willing to accept these "facts" and spread this "news." Melissa McCarthy reaches an artistic career peak with her performance as the late writer who had been one of the top names in her field in the 70s and early 80s before cultural evolution (or devolution, depending on how you look at it) combined with her own abrasiveness and alcoholism led publishers to shun her work. McCarthy adapts her familiar techniques perfectly to this particular character. With bills mounting, and facing loss of prestige and income, she began drinking heavily and sinking into a deep, almost psychotic, depression when, half by chance, she discovered that a lot of money could be made by selling letters from famous people like Katharine Hepburn and Fanny Brice. The juicier the content, the more cash they commanded. A talented and witty writer herself, she was familiar enough with the style of the such figures as Noel Coward and Dorothy Parker to forge imitations that convinced professional collectors of their authenticity. Quotes from some of her fakes even ended up in respectable publications. Eventually she resorted to doctoring correspondence which she stole from libraries and selling the results for high prices to sometimes shady dealers. Here was someone who loved and respected outstanding writers and their works but was driven by circumstance to, in effect, falsifying their legacies. Some of the little touches that deepen our understanding of her character include a scene where she is watching the 1941 film version of "The Little Foxes" and starts delivering the dialogue along with the actors and even accurately imitating Bette Davis's distinctive giggle. Much of the time she is swilling scotch and her ever-so-slightly slurred speech reflects this half-inebriated state. The movie is shot in New York, making use of locations that still look much as they did more than a quarter of a century ago, when the classic New York of the early-to-mid 20th century, an environment conducive to Israel's own earlier success, had mostly faded out. Julius, the bar where a few key scenes are set, existed then and still exists now. (A conversation therein about her illegal shenanigans is softly underscored by Marlene Dietrich's recording of "Illusions," Dietrich being the subject of one of Israel's Noel Coward forgeries.) Most of the interiors (book stores, archives, Israel's funky apartment, her agent's more elegant and expansive one) are genuine. McCarthy is strongly supported by Richard E. Grant in a showy, colorful performance as a fellow alcoholic and partner in crime, Stephen Spinella as a kind but increasingly suspicious rare book dealer, Brandon Scott Jones as a fussy book store clerk who, to his regret, rubs Israel the wrong way, Jane Curtin as her no-nonsense literary agent, Anna Deveare Smith as an old friend and numerous others. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?", based on and named after Israel's slender autobiographical recap of this period, is a highly intelligent and detailed rendering of a complex human being, by turns endearing and repulsive, brilliant and stupid.

source: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Richard E. Grant for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor! He made this good film better, and with amazing physical acting, and by inserting a huge dose of humanity. Melissa McCarthy is always high quality and an eternally underappreciated Jane Curtain seals the package. I found the film very engrossing and it kept my attention. I did NOT walk out of the theater cheering, or weeping, but truly satisfied that I got to witness an extraordinary work of art. And, I learned a lot about 20th century literature.

This is a wonderful film with a fabulous, flawed heroine. At the same time funny, moving and insightful Melissa McCarthy gives a career defining performance in the lead role and Richard E. Grant is both hilarious and tragic in support. The fact that Marielle Heller and the film itself were not nominated for Oscars is a travesty...without question one of the best films of the year.

Melissa McCarthy - resembling a prettier female Oliver Hardy - earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination as a struggling writer who not for the first or last time learns that there's far more money in being a good forger rather than simply a creative artist.