All is Forgiven

By Tom Pacak

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” is a film about lonely people. A film that shows lonely people commit criminal acts for attention, survival, and desperation.  People steal, kill, and commit forgeries all for the sake of getting recognized. The criminal acts in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” are not only crimes of desperation but also crimes of passion.  Nobody dies from these acts but people definitely screamed “Bloody Murder” about them. The film’s protagonist Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) and her best friend Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant) are people trying to get by but in the end, loved the crimes they were committing.

Lee Israel is trying to make ends meet. She is a struggling alcoholic author who was popular back in the 1970s-1990s who specializes in writing high profiles on women. Now, she has lost her mojo and relevance. Her cat is sick; her apartment is falling apart, and can’t make a book deal. She’s broke! Her agent stresses to her that she’s not likable enough to get a book deal due to her pessimistic attitude towards people.

Having no other way to pay her expenses, Lee Israel decides to sell some of her most prized possessions. She starts off by selling a cherished personal letter from Katharine Hepburn. Lee Israel is offered a large sum of money that covers her rent. While going through junk, she realizes some letters from old writers she cherishes. This is where the fun begins. Lee Israel soon starts to publish fake letters to snobs who couldn’t tell a real letter or fake letter to save her life. Watching Lee Israel do this criminal activity is just as fun for her as it is for the audience. A lot of people who haven’t seen “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” are asking, how do you make a story about someone committing forgeries interesting? It worked for Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher who made lawsuits and computer programing interesting in “The Social Network.”  Director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) makes Lee Israel and Jack Hock interesting enough to carry this small but clever story. She gives her characters motivations and reasons for their crimes that a lot of people in desperate trouble can relate to. 

Like all stories where characters are apart of a brilliant con, all bad things must come to an end. While Lee Israel is a smart con artist who tries to have her stuff together, Jack Hock is a messy guy who doesn’t have this life together. He doesn’t have a real home and just coasts from house to house. Lee Israel is a functioning alcoholic and he’s a messy one. A very sad death of someone close to Lee Israel fractures their relationship. One thing I wish the filmed did was explore the sexuality of Lee Israel and Jack Hock. It’s implied that both characters are gay but doesn’t really go into detail about their sexual desires. I think this would really relate well to the themes of the film.

Both of the lead performances in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” really capture the struggle of being alone. Melissa McCarthy is known for her funny roles in mostly forgettable comedies, with the exception of “Bridesmaids” and “Spy.” Here, she ends that streak by tackling something else. McCarthy’s portrayal of Lee Israel shows how one wants to be praised in her craft, but also wants to be worthy of praise. Along her journey, she gets praised from the auctioneers and even has a little crush on one of the female auctioneers she met at a bookstore. Her acts or praise aren’t enough to make up that she actually isn’t good at the writings because they aren’t hers, to begin with. I don’t see a world where Melissa McCarthy isn’t nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars this year. It’s one of the best performances of the year!

Watching “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” I was reminded of Richard E. Grant’s first and best role as Withnail in “Withnail & I.” In “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” he plays a character similar to his iconic Withnail. Both characters are lonely alcoholics who always screw up their best friend’s lives. Withnail towards the end is left alone in the rain quoting Hamlet’s famous “What a piece of work is a man!” speech to a zoo of wolves. I was reminded of his scene watching Jack Hock’s life fall apart. His character is a lonely man but one not afraid to be alone. He’s risky but accepting of the consequences of his risks. He’s a charming loser polar opposite to Lee’s grumpy loser.

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” is many films rolled into one. It’s a biopic, caper film, and buddy film. Marielle Heller and the brilliant two leads want to show us that we con ourselves when we get lost in a life crisis. Lee Israel lost everything but then gained everything by coning auctioneers. In the end, Lee goes to a bookstore and tries to buy a letter by Dorothy Parker. Angered by the auctioneer who charged her $1900 for the piece. She writes a letter telling him it’s a fake. Now that’s the greatest con!

Note: Now Playing in Theaters

Rating: 3.5 Stars Out of 4 Stars