"Can You Ever Forgive Me," is Melissa McCarthy's best performance of her career. Today, Lee Israel is known more for her audacious spree of forgeries than for being an author of biographies. Broke and unable to get her editor (Jane Curtain) to take her calls, Lee (McCarthy) stumbles onto a theme that provides her with a steady income. By forging letters supposedly written by the likes of Noel Coward and Dorothy Parker, she is able to attract the interest of collectors, and, in some instances, make as much as $400 for a few hours' work. Later, when authenticity becomes an issue, she resorts to stealing actual letters from libraries and archives (and replacing them with her forgeries so they won't be missed).
The screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, is full of cynical wit and dark comedy. McCarthy plays it straight, allowing her talent as an actress (often hidden under the awful comedies that pay the big bucks) to shine through. She develops Lee into a three-dimensional individual, brittle and misanthropic but also vulnerable and sympathetic. More than half of the movie features dialogue between Lee and Jack (a charming Richard E. Grant), who is a perfect foil for the bitter, inward-focused author. The two delight in throwing zingers at one another until circumstances become serious and the friendship sours. "Can You Ever Forgive Me" is one of the better independent movies released this year. If you can't catch it in a theater, be sure to see it on Netflix or cable.
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