Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Melissa McCarthy veers away from the slapstick comedies in which she typically stars and gives a terrific leading performance in Marielle Heller's "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," which chronicles the true life saga of Lee Israel, an author whose career was on the skids circa 1991 and, in an effort to drum up some cash, began forging letters from such famous figures as Fanny Brice, Noel Coward and Dorothy Parker.

Israel is portrayed as a sad sack when we first meet her, drinking on the job at a low-level paying gig as her literary career, overseen by a not-so-encouraging agent, takes a downslide. Regardless, Israel's biting tongue makes her a pleasure to watch. When a young woman pleads with another to "kill her" if she finds herself in Israel's circumstances at that age, Israel offers to help with the process.

Although she dreams of focusing on her own creative writing, Israel specializes in writing other people's stories - biographies that her agent tells her are not in demand. Israel spends her day sulking with her beloved cat or drinking the day away in a bar with newfound friend Jack (a delightfully droll Richard E. Grant), an aging gay lothario who seems to be sleeping his way through Manhattan.

One day, while researching Brice for a biography that she's writing, Israel stumbles upon an old letter written by that comedienne, takes it to a collector and makes a decent amount of money for it. A light turns on in her head, and Israel begins forging fake - but convincing - letters from literary figures, movie stars and other famous people of yesteryear and selling them for increasingly higher prices - that is, until the FBI begins snooping around.

Heller's previous film was "The Diary of a Teenage Girl," which I liked, although I enjoyed her latest picture even more. Her work, so far, has focused on intriguing, but flawed, female characters with whom we are able to relate, despite their penchant for taking part in self destructive and vindictive behavior. And the film is at its best when focusing on the friendship between Israel and Jack. They're a match made in, well, purgatory, but their bizarre love-hate relationship and witty repartee is in turns humorous and heartbreaking.

McCarthy really shines here as Israel, and it's a performance that I'm hoping will lead to more of its type for the actress, rather than the typically silly comedies for which she's known. She really digs into the role and makes Israel a character with whom we can sympathize, despite her cantankerous personality and occasional criminal behavior. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" is well worth seeing.