Can You Ever Forgive Me? (***)

I was anxious to see this film after a promising trailer and and in intrigue around the scandal of a woman using forgery to get ahead. Based on a true story, Lee Israel fabricated over 400 typed letters and passed them off as the private correspondence of long-dead writers and celebrities. She walked away with a bundle but was ultimately caught and convicted in federal court. Talk about a wild ride.

The movie centers around Israel, played by Melissa McCarthy in a departure from tone for the comedic actress. Once an Oscar-nominee for "Bridesmaids," the actress has fallen into a rut of low-brow comedies with fart and fat jokes galore. It's refreshing to see her stripped down, no makeup, diving deep into a character with so many problems just below the surface. Lee, once a successful writer, has fallen on hard times. Her books no longer sell, her agent has lost faith (an agent who is more focused on her famed client Tom Clancy... It's set in 1991). Her cat is sick, and she needs money fast. Through a series of unlikely circumstances, Israel stumbles upon a letter tucked away in an old book written by Fanny Brice. In an attempt to sell the letter, the buyer offers some advice: it would be more valuable if it had more juicy gossip. Israel concocts an idea.

Marielle Heller, our director, creates a story with a New York feel and sense of place. It clicks along nicely and tells the story it intended, nothing more. McCarthy shows us a woman who is nearly broken. Her past relationships have failed, her apartment is a hoarders nightmare, and she shies away from the world because she knows she is unwanted by all others... All others except Jack Hock (Richard E Grant), a neighborhood drunk and former friend who finds her in a bar and carries her forward with a new sense of purpose. Where Israel is a shut in, Hock is a flamboyant character that leaps off the screen. Not discussed in the trailer is the fact that both of our "heroes" are gay, with Hock using his sex as currency, while Israel pulls away from any sense of love. It's a well-crafted combo.

The film, for me, was simply adequate. We know what will happen, and we understand the stakes. Much of the forgery is glossed over in favor of more human elements, such as when Israel goes on a date with one of her sellers and she simply can't take a hint. While I enjoyed McCarthy in the lead role, it's really Richard Grant who walks off with the movie (and maybe an Oscar?). His is a performance that simply breaks through the mundane to become something more real - a living, breathing character who has a beating heart underneath all the callous layers.

It's kind of a routine story when you break it down - one where our protagonist uses her skills in a new way and ultimately realizes that she isn't a failure after all. This isn't a caper film that uses quick editing and suspense to create a mood of "will she get caught?" We know she will. The story is ultimately about someone stepping outside her shell, and as a result gets a new perspective on life. Maybe that's a bit boring when it's summed up like that, but ultimately this movie really seeks to tell us nothing more. A modest recommendation here, if only so you can see one of the year's best performances from Mr Grant.