Movie Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland












Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: A smart, touching and sometimes quite funny film version of a fantastic true story that remains down to Earth in all the best ways.

What makes this movie so great is that it always feels so real. True it is based on a true story, but there are many movies based off true stories that don't feel real in the slightest bit. Much of why this movie feels so real comes from both the fantastic script from Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitley and an incredible performance from Melissa McCarthy. To be honest I am not always a fan of Melissa McCarthy. This has more to do with her material than anything else. I find much of her over the top and often vulgar comedy, more annoying than actually funny. That is what made this movie surprise me so much. I could see that she truly is an extremely talented woman. While there is humor in her performance, this is mostly a very dramatic role for her. She pulls this off with incredible skill. There is an underlying sadness in her performance that is played subtlety, but that it is hard not to feel. If I had to pick one word to describe this performance it would be real. Without every having to be over the top, McCarthy plays every emotion perfectly and heavily because of this it never feels like there is anything remotely false in this character. This could easily be her best performance and it will blow away both fans and non-fans of her alike. It would have been so easy to make Lee Israel seem like a complete caricature of grumpy woman who prefers cats over people. Yet this never comes to be and instead we completely feel for her as we see that beneath her rough exterior, she is a lonely and insecure person.

This is a very quiet and low key film. There is comedy but it is played down and never calls attention to itself. Likewise the only suspense is whether or not Lee will be caught, but there is never a full suspense scene where we are on the edge of our seats. Instead this movie is much more a character study than anything else. Again this works because we are so fascinated and in tune with her. Just because this is a character study does not mean this movie is all art and no fun. There is a lot of enjoyment to be found here. The story is amazing and it is fantastic to watch what Lee Israel was actually able to get away with. The scenes with her and her friend Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant) are great and it is a lot of fun to listen to their banter.

  Marielle Heller proves just how great of a director she is here. Her direction never calls attention to itself, but rather stays in the background. This does not mean it is not there and is not fantastic. She knows this is the perfect way to tell a story like this and does just that.

This may not be attracting the same attention as many of the big blockbusters right now, but it is more than worth your time, so definitely go and check it out.

-Michael J. Ruhland