''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' is a 2018 American

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docu ...

directed by

Marielle Heller Marielle Stiles Heller (born October 1, 1979) is an American writer, director, and actress. She is best known for directing the films ''The Diary of a Teenage Girl'' (2015), ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' (2018), and ''A Beautiful Day in the Neig ...

and with a screenplay by

Nicole Holofcener Nicole Holofcener (; born March 22, 1960) is an American film and television director and screenwriter. She has directed six feature films, including ''Walking and Talking'', ''Friends with Money'' and '' Enough Said'', as well as various televisi ...

and

Jeff Whitty Jeffrey Daniel Whitty (born September 30, 1971) is an American playwright, actor, and screenwriter. For the stage musical ''Avenue Q'', he won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. For his work on the Fox Searchlight film ''Can You Ever For ...

, based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name by

Lee Israel Leonore Carol "Lee" Israel (December 3, 1939 – December 24, 2014) was an American author known for committing literary forgery. Her 2008 confessional autobiography ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' was adapted into the 2018 film of the same name s ...

Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...

stars as Israel, and the story follows her attempts to revitalize her failing writing career by

forging Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at whi ...

letters from deceased authors and playwrights. The film also features

Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is a Swazi-English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Mari ...

Dolly Wells Dorothy Perpetua Wells (born Gatacre; 5 December 1971)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, vol. III, 2003, pg 3046 is an English actress and writer. She co-wrote and starred in the Sky Living series ''Doll & Em'' (2014–2015) with Emily ...

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...

Anna Deavere Smith Anna Deavere Smith is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in ''The West Wing'' (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series ''N ...

Stephen Spinella Stephen Spinella (born October 11, 1956) is an American stage, television, and film actor. Early life Spinella was born in Naples, Italy, to a father who was an American naval airplane mechanic. He grew up in Glendale, Arizona, and graduated fr ...

, and

Ben Falcone Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in ''God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Ident ...

in supporting roles. Israel took the title from an apologetic line in a letter in which she posed as

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhapp ...

. The film had its world premiere at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, ...

on September 1, 2018, and was released in the United States on October 19, 2018, by

Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...

. The film grossed $12 million on a $10 million budget and was praised for McCarthy and Grant's performances. It was named by the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

as one of their top ten films of 2018. For their performances, McCarthy and Grant earned nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, A ...

, the

76th Golden Globe Awards The 76th ceremony of the Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and American television of 2018, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Produced by Dick Clark Productions and the HFPA, the ceremony was broadcast live on J ...

, and the

72nd British Academy Film Awards The 72nd British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 10 February 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2018. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Televi ...

, among other ceremonies. Holofcener and Whitty were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musica ...

and won the

Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards, focused specifically for film. The Writers Guild of America began making the distinction between an original screenpl ...

Plot

In 1991, following the critical and commercial failure of her biography of Estée Lauder, author

struggles with financial troubles,

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

, and alcoholism. Although she hopes to write a biography of comedienne

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...

, her agent, Marjorie, sharply rejects the idea and explains that Lee, with her difficult personality, is responsible for her own career slump. With Marjorie unable to secure her an advance for a new book, regardless of subject matter, Lee resorts to selling her possessions to cover living expenses. She sells a personal letter she received long ago from

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

to a used bookstore merchant and autograph dealer named Anna. Meanwhile, Lee begins spending time with old acquaintance Jack Hock. Visiting a Manhattan library's special collections department to research Fanny Brice, Lee discovers two letters typewritten by Brice. She removes one of them from the building and shows it to Anna. Anna makes Lee an offer that is lower than what she was expecting due to the letter's bland content. Lee returns home and uses a typewriter to add a postscript to the second letter. Lee returns to Anna’s store, where Anna, amused by what “Fanny Brice” wrote “several decades ago,” offers Lee $350. Lee then starts forging and selling letters "by" deceased celebrities, incorporating intimate details to command high prices. Anna, a fan of Lee’s biographies, tries to initiate a romantic relationship, but may have another motive as on their dinner date she produces a short story she has written hoping for a critique. At the end of the dinner the socially phobic Lee appears to rebuff her. In some of Lee's letters, she has

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

make unguarded references to his sexuality. A used book dealer named Paul buys one of them from Lee and then sends it to a friend of his who knew Coward, who died less than 20 years ago. Coward’s friend becomes suspicious and raises an alarm that leads to Lee’s customers

blacklisting Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

her. Unable to sell the forgeries, she has Jack sell the letters on her behalf. She also starts stealing authentic letters from libraries and archives for Jack to sell, replacing them with forged duplicates. While Lee is out of town committing one such theft, her cat dies under Jack's care. She ends their friendship but continues their partnership out of necessity. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

arrests Jack while he is attempting a sale. He cooperates with them, resulting in Lee being served with a court summons. She retains a lawyer, who advises her to show contrition by getting a job, doing community service, and joining

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-profess ...

. In court, Lee admits she enjoyed creating the forgeries and does not regret her actions but realizes that her crimes were not worth it because they did not show her true self as a writer. The judge sentences Lee to five years'

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

and six months'

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

. Sometime later, Lee arranges an encounter in a small restaurant with Jack and reconciles with him. Jack, dying of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, grants her permission to write a memoir about their escapades. Later, while Lee is passing a bookstore, she sees a

letter she forged that is now on sale for $1,900. Disgusted, she writes the store owner a sarcastic note in Parker's voice. Upon receiving the note and realizing that the letter in the storefront window is a fake, the owner removes it from the window but changes his mind and decides to keep it on display.

Cast

Production

In 2011, when the project was first conceived,

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

was set to play the character of Jack Hock. In April 2015, it was announced that

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, a ...

would play Israel, with

set to direct. On May 14, 2015,

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy ''The IT Crowd'', which ran for four series between 2006 and 2010. He has ...

joined the cast. In July 2015, Moore and Holofcener dropped out of the project due to "creative conflicts."Making of 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?': How Melissa McCarthy Stepped In for Julianne Moore
/ref> In May 2016,

—whose husband,

, had been cast in a supporting role in Holofcener's film—was confirmed to have been cast as Israel, with

directing from Holofcener's script. In January 2017,

, and

Jennifer Westfeldt Jennifer Westfeldt (born February 2, 1970) is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film ''Kissing Jessica Stein'', for which she received an I ...

joined the cast. Westfeldt does not appear in the finished film. Filming, which took place in New York City, began in January 2017 and concluded on March 2, 2017.

Release

''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' had its world premiere at the

on September 1, 2018. It also screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

that same month. The film was released in the United States on October 19, 2018. The film was dedicated to the author and movie subject Leonore Carol Israel December 3, 1939 - December 24, 2014.

Reception

Box office

''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' grossed $8.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $3.7 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $12.5 million, against a production budget of $10 million. ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' grossed $150,000 from five theaters in its opening weekend. During its second weekend, it earned $380,000 from 25 theaters. It expanded to 180 theaters in its third week, making $1.08 million. The film grossed $1.5 million from 391 theaters in its fourth weekend. During its fifth weekend, it earned $880,000 from 555 theaters, bringing the total box office gross to over $5 million. During its 11th weekend in release the film crossed $7.5 million stateside.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Deftly directed and laced with dark wit, ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' proves a compelling showcase for deeply affecting work from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Peter Debruge wrote in ''Variety'' that "it takes an actress as delightful as elissa McCarthyto make such a woman not just forgivable but downright lovable"; however, in how the film was promoted he concluded that "one gets the impression that Fox Searchlight is trying to hide (or at least downplay) the homosexual side of this story: Lee was a lesbian, while the openly gay Jack

ock Ock or OCK may refer to: * River Ock (disambiguation), three rivers in England * Ok (Korean name), also spelt Ock ** Ock Joo-hyun (born 1980), South Korean K-pop singer and musical theatre actress * Océano Club de Kerkennah, a Tunisian football c ...

can hardly pass a fire hydrant without asking for its phone number." ''

Film Journal International ''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of ''Adweek'', ''Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodicals. H ...

'' said McCarthy's performance was "stunning" and her previous film roles "could not anticipate how fearlessly and credibly she inhabits Lee Israel." Eric Kohn of ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' said the film was a "charming melancholic comedy" where "Heller channels the dark urban milieu of vintage Woody Allen", and in which McCarthy's performance "elevates the material at every opportunity."

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * * {{Dorian Award for LGBTQ Film of the Year 2018 films 2010s biographical films 2018 LGBT-related films American biographical films American LGBT-related films Biographical films about writers 2010s English-language films Films about bibliophilia Films about con artists Films based on autobiographies Films set in 1991 Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Films directed by Marielle Heller Films with screenplays by Nicole Holofcener Fox Searchlight Pictures films Gay-related films Lesbian-related films LGBT-related buddy films LGBT-related films based on actual events Literary forgeries 2010s American films 2018 independent films