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Rating:  -
A character in the film "The Princess Bride" utters one of my favorite quotes: "Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." Alas-if we would only remember that sage advice before writing our phone number on a napkin, signing on a dotted line, dropping coins into a collection plate or punching out a voting chad.
Hollywood loves con artists, probably because movie audiences never appear to tire of watching yet one more poor sucker being bamboozled and swindled. It makes us feel superior-"I'd never fall for THAT!" (Er-right.)
Director Lasse Hallstrom has delivered a smashing entry in the genre with his new movie, "The Hoax". The film is based on the story of Clifford Irving, a struggling writer who toiled in relative obscurity until he stumbled onto an idea for "the most important book of the 20th century"-the "Autobiography of Howard Hughes". The book was the most hyped literary event of 1972, and would assure Irving the notoriety he craved. Heck, he even made the cover of Time. Unfortunately, his Time portrait was slugged with "Con Man of the Year", because as it turned out, the "autobiography" was a bit of a surprise to Mr. Hughes, because, you see, Mr. Irving made the whole thing up (oops). The books were unceremoniously yanked from the shelves soon after their debut.
Richard Gere tears through the lead role with an intensity we haven't
seen from him in quite a while. His Clifford Irving is a charlatan and a compulsive liar, to be sure, but Gere makes him sympathetic in a carefully measured portrayal and never stoops to audience pandering. Even as he digs himself into an ever deepening hole, and you cover your eyes because you know the other shoe is going to drop at any time, you've just gotta love this guy's pure chutzpah. In retrospect, when compared to some other mass public deceptions that were brewing at the time (the Irving scandal was soon to be eclipsed in the headlines by Watergate), Irving's fraud trial almost seems like malicious prosecution.
Hallstrom does an excellent job at capturing the 70's milieu; especially the insidious paranoia of the Nixon era.
The cast includes Alfred Molina (in a great turn as Irving's researcher), Marcia Gay Harden (sporting a Streep-worthy accent as Irving's Eurotrash wife), and true chameleon Hope Davis (looking very Mary Richards as Irving's agent). Also with Stanley Tucci, Julie Delpy and a memorable cameo from Eli Wallach.
Rating:  -
I didn't enjoy "The Hoax".
It's odd that I didn't enjoy it - it's got an excellent pedigree (a great director, a mostly tried-and-trusted cast roster and a really fascinating true story as its raison d'etre), but for me, it just doesn't come together at any time to make a whole and likeable movie.
Down-on-his-luck writer Clifford Irving (Gere), sick of his work not being published, decides to invent a biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, and, in the wave of publicity and anticipation surrounding the book's publication, involves his friends and loved ones in a web of lies that could ultimately destroy them all.
Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden are, in this reviewer's opinion, hopelessly underused in films, so it's great to see these two highly talented actors turn in very sensitive and watchable performances - in particular, Gay Harden's turn as Irving's long-suffering partner is outstanding - but in the central role, Richard Gere's performance cannot match his support. He comes across as sort-of desperate, kinda hopeless, maybe-a-little-bit unfaithful, somewhat untrustworthy - Gere seems to be torn between playing Irving as a basicaly decent guy backed into a corner by debt and temptation, or as a Machiavellian no-talent hack with an eye for manipulation. Neither chord is really struck, however, and it's in this confusion of personality that Gere's Irving fails to work as the central column around which this otherwise fine drama is built. There's a lack of resolution about the character of Clifford Irving that leaves the viewer feeling, at best, confused, and at worst, irritated. By the movie's end, we wonder if Irving really is hallucinating, has he finally succumbed to his own deceptions, or whether we care enough about him to really want to know.
Hallström's direction is assured and confident, and there are several scenes (Irving's fire escape shenanigans or his "abduction" towards the movie's end) where Hallström's talent behind a camera shines - the visuals, at least, keep us satisfied for these sections - and overall, this is, from a technical point of view, a good movie. The screenplay is above average, too - it's a tight, polished script that doesn't feel like it's rushing us through a complex and tense storyline. Sadly, neither of these elements can overcome the overall sense of banality that hangs about "The Hoax".
It's a shame - William Wheeler's fine script, a terribly interesting story, some great direction by Lasse Hallström and two excellent supporting performances (Molina's Sancho Panza to Gere's Don Quixote is excellent, believable and sympathetic) - spoiled by a very flat central performance from Gere. And in a movie of this length, where 90% of the action features Gere's character front-and-centre, these 115 minutes very quickly start to feel like two hours too many. Given a different choice of actor for the role of Irving, with every other element of the movie kept the same, "The Hoax" could have been a fantastic bit of cinema. As is, it's not even particularly memorable.
Not recommended.
Rating:  -
Richard Gere turns in an amazing performance as Clifford Irving in "The Hoax." Irving wrote a notorious "authorized" biography of the reclusive Howard Hughes in the 1970's which was a complete fabrication. He fooled McGraw-Hill, Life magazine, handwriting experts and journalists who had known Hughes before he cut himself off from the world totally. As the story unfolds, Irving turns into Hughes himself, adopting the looks and voice of Hughes as he had been in public many years before. The house of cards collapses in the end, of course, and the movie suggests a twist to the story that may or not be factual, but I'll say no more.
At Gere's first appearance on the screen, I almost didn't recognize him. He's a little old and down on his luck, and it's amazing how the reddish brown curly hair he's been given changes his look entirely. None of the "Pretty Woman" star here. It seems as if he only comes alive when he's lying--to his wife, his best friend, the publishers and lawyers, himself. It's sad, and a great performance.
Rating:  -
Another lazy, middlebrow Miramax movie for the elderly liberal demographic, complete with an obligatory gratuitous mention of George (H.W.) Bush. Only Miramax could succeed in making the story of the Hughes autobiography scam seem less interesting than it actually was. The book by Clifford Irving is vastly more entertaining.
Rating: -
Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), a writer whose first book didn't sell well, is desperate to get his next book going. His connection at McGraw Hill, Andrea Tate (Hope Davis), assures him the company loves the new book, will publish it, they are just waiting for Time magazine to look at it for possible serialization. A couple of days later, the editor of Time hates the book and McGraw Hill is no longer publishing. Clifford is desperate for something to happen; his furniture is being repossessed, so he turns to his wife, Edith (Marcia Gay Harden), a painter, and his best friend, Dick Susskind (Alfred Molina) for help and suggestions. Clifford and Dick decide to escape for a few days to the Bahamas. In the middle of the night, the entire hotel is evacuated because the owner, Howard Hughes, wants to spend a few nights there and he is notoriously germ phobic. Back home in upstate New York, Clifford gets an idea. He will write the "autobiography" of Howard Hughes. It is the perfect plan; the subject never appears in public, he won't fight the book because of pending litigation against his airline, TWA, and Clifford can make a mint. He manages to convince McGraw Hill he has a connection to the reclusive billionaire and events start to spiral out of control. At one point, Clifford even suspects Hughes may be secretly feeding him information.
"The Hoax", directed by Lasse Hallstrom ("The Cider House Rules", "Chocolat"), and based on the book by Clifford Irving, is an interesting look at how far one man is able to take his tall tales. It isn't a perfect film, but it is enjoyable. I can't help but think if the film had been released last fall, it might be doing better box office. It seems like a fall type of offering; a little low key, a period piece, some funny bits, some dramatic bits, a difficult to categorize film.
Set in 1971, Hallstrom seems to have gone to great pains to capture the look and feel of the era. The main characters in the story are either the rich or the middle class, so everyone seems to have well thought out outfits with period authentic hairstyles that help transport us to this time and place. This isn't a world filled with protesters, or hippies, so everyone acts very `civilized' and this could also be considered a fault of the film. Given the story takes place in the early 70s, there are few mentions of protestors, the war, etc., and there is surprisingly little of this type of discussion or impact on the story. Late in the film, Irving realizes he has something that may affect Nixon, and there is some discussion of this, and the story then connects to Watergate. But until this point, there are only brief glimpses of newsreel footage, to remind us of the events surrounding these people. Events that seem to have little impact on this group of characters.
"Hoax" works best when Gere uses events from Irving's life to fabricate the character's tall tales. In an effort to convince the publishers at McGraw Hill that he is legitimate, Irving begins to create a story, using a phrase his nervous friend, Dick, uttered, making it into a believable encounter with the eccentric millionaire. As Gere tells these stories, Hallstrom provides a stream of consciousness parade of images that we have already seen, to illustrate the tale, showing us the type of huckster Irving is. Clifford really lucked onto a sort of "perfect storm" of hoaxes; he reads some magazine articles about Hughes and then learns more information before deciding to try to emulate the eccentric, little seen man's speech patterns and voice. The publisher brings in a man who actually met and worked with Hughes, an expert, and he is convinced Irving is telling the truth. As Irving says, "the more outrageous I sound, the more everyone believes me."
Gere does a nice job of portraying Irving's manic aura; he is a desperate man and the lies he creates make him even more desperate. Initially, he is trying to get another book published, to pay some of the bills he and Edith have accumulated. Later, he is desperate to keep the fiction going because he is able to secure a huge advance for the story. Now, he has to keep everyone believing the autobiography is true. Every time he appears on screen, Gere displays his character's confidence in his scheme, but his eyes shift around and he isn't completely able to hide Irving's restless nature. Towards the end, and only then, does Gere seem to let Irving calm down a bit, when he realizes there is no escape.
Alfred Molina is good as Dick Susskind, Irving's researcher, friend and co-hort. He seems to go along with the idea, at least initially, because creating this famous man's life intrigues him, trying to make it as real as possible is a challenge. Then, they stumble upon an old associate of Hughes (played by Eli Wallach, a nice, slightly eccentric performance), who has written a sort of secret autobiography of his own, which he doesn't intend to publish. But Susskind realizes it has valuable, secret information - transcripts of phone conversations, meetings, and deal memos - in it that would only help to enhance their fiction. As they get deeper and deeper into the lies, Susskind becomes more and more nervous.
Marcia Gay Harden plays Edith, Clifford's Swiss wife, who is trying to complete the paintings she needs for an art gallery opening. Their relationship is interesting. She occasionally reminds Clifford of his extramarital affairs and has forgiven him, but dreads a relapse. She is very anxious about his trips into the city because she doesn't want him to continue to meet Her (Julie Delpy). Edith and Clifford are clearly in love, but there is also a hint of desperation in her dealings with her husband.
Stanley Tucci and Zeljko Ivanek ("The Manchurian Candidate", TV's "Homicide", "Law and Order") pop up as publishers (the head of McGraw Hill and the publisher of Life magazine respectively) and lend an air of gravitas to the story.
As Irving continues to weave his lies, he receives a box in the mail. Postmarked from Las Vegas, with no return address, the box contains paperwork that could only have come from Hughes files. Were they stolen? Who sent them? As Clifford looks through them, he realizes there is evidence linking bribes from Hughes to Nixon. This is powerful stuff and Clifford shows it to his publisher, insists it be published in the book. Hughes may be insisting on it as well. Throughout the film, there are small exchanges and conversations Irving uses to inform his `tall tales'. "Hoax" smartly weaves this idea into the story, using it again in another way.
"The Hoax" is a better film than I expected or anticipated; the story moves fast and the characters are interesting. But the film almost seems to be painting broad strokes. We don't get a full sense of many of the supporting characters. Hope Davis' role is weak. If Irving is such a hack writer, why is she so interested in helping him out? Tucci and Ivanek add the requisite bluster, but it is difficult to see beyond these single notes. When Tucci's character confronts Irving, he is incredulous when the writer calls of the deal, creating a showdown. Later, when the book starts to fall apart, he announces that they have too much invested in it; they are going to go ahead and publish it. But you also get the sense that he realizes, even in the early 70s, that no publicity is bad publicity.
If you see "The Hoax", and your attention will be held, you might also consider renting Orson Welles' "F for Fake", a film he made in the mid-70s, in which he tries to determine if certain things are true or false. One of the subjects is Clifford Irving and Welles interviews him for the film. It is a strange film, but it would give you the opportunity to see the subject of "The Hoax" in person.
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