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Rating:  -
Despite the fact that I'm not exactly a Richard Gere fan, I went into "The Hoax" with high expectations. After all, I consider director Lasse Hallstrom - feelgood/schmaltzy though he may sometimes be ("Once Around", "The Cider House Rules") - to be one of the more consistently reliable filmmakers of the last twenty years (he's directed several of my all-time favorite films, including "My Life As A Dog", "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "Chocolat"). And from what little I knew of the intriguing real-life story upon which this movie is based, I figured it would be a good to very good film as long as the filmmakers didn't mess it up (and Richard Gere didn't ham it up).
Thankfully, I was wrong. It actually turned out to be a great film, and not only did the filmmakers not mess it up, they elevated the material beyond what my already-high expectations were going in. From the taut and smart script (which in my opinion is worthy of an Adapted Screenplay Oscar Nomination) to the inventive cinematography, from the (as always) imaginative direction to a surprisingly non-showboaty performance from Richard Gere (not to mention scene-stealing performances by actors in supporting roles), "The Hoax" is right up there with the best films I've seen all year.
For those of you not in the know, the story centers around (and is based on a book by) Clifford Irving, who - as we meet him in the movie - had already (quite aptly, it turns out) written the book Fake, with forgery as its subject (and you can see the real Clifford Irving in Orson Welles' classic 1974 film "F for Fake"). Now he's received verbal agreement that his publishing house, McGraw Hill, will be putting out his second book, the unfortunately named Rudnick's Problem. So he spends his advance in advance (of actually having one), even as people are repossessing his couch from previous debts owed. Then, in an ill-timed turn of events, Life Magazine - who was set to serialize the book - reads the manuscript and calls it a "third-rate Phillip Roth knock-off." Oops! Deal's off, Cliffy!
Desperate to not be ignored by his publisher, and desperate for cash and other non-perishables with which to feed his ego, Irving tells the people at McGraw-Hill that he's been commissioned to write the autobiography of infamous billionaire recluse, Howard Hughes (even though he hasn't - hoax alert!). He starts by forging letters whose handwriting is copied from a Howard Hughes profile in Life Magazine (which, if still around, would have had to pay a hell of a product placement fee for this movie).
Irving figures it's a perfect plan: "he'll never come out of hiding to denounce me because he's a lunatic hermit, and I'm the spokesman for the lunatic hermit!" This sets into motion a series of cat and mouse games as various factions try to smoke out Irving as a con artist and Irving (actually more of a rat than a mouse) ratchets up the stakes at every turn, figuring the bolder the lie, the more likely it is to be believed.
As played by Gere, Irving is a pompous, adulterous liar who's also a bit of a drama king. His wife (played with quirky delight by Marcia Gay Harden) seems to be aware of all this, dismissively telling him early in the film, "My gallery show is in 3 weeks - I don't have time for the drama now, darling." And later, she warns him to not spend time with any "special friends" as he's planning to go on a trip. That Gere plays this jerky gasbag in such a way that we not only care about him but root for him is no mean feat.
A scene-stealing Alfred Molina plays Dick Susskind, Irving's nervous nebbish reluctant co-conspirator, whom we meet as a 38 years old, unpublished author (whose wife has left him for a lesbian), trying to write a children's book featuring the dual kid-friendly themes of war and sodomy. (yes, this film has a sense of humor - there are many lines that are patently absurd and laugh out loud funny)
The picture keeps Nixon and 'Nam hovering in the background as an effective backdrop, with paranoia being the paradigm of the time and Irving himself getting so caught up in his web of deceit that he himself can barely distinguish fact from fantasy, reality from paranoid delusion. There is also a very interesting subplot involving a mysterious box that shows up on Irving's doorstep that may or may not tie Nixon and Watergate into the whole biography mess.
Not knowing too much about what really happened, to me this is the only part of the film that felt like its grasping for a bit more than it can truly hold. Intriguing, yes. Plausible? Not really. But I fully concede in advance that things might have actually played out that way in real life and that truth is indeed stranger than fiction (and that I'm an ignorant buffoon). And regardless of whether it's the way events actually happened or not, the screenplay is pure genius, with lots of quotable lines and crisp dialog.
In some early reviews, I've seen a lot of comparisons made to the journalistic con artist Stephen Glass played by Hayden Christensen in the film "Shattered Glass". But I feel this movie owes more in its tone of well-layered psychological suspense and intrigue to the great "Quiz Show" - with Ralph Fiennes' Charles Van Doren being caught up in a scam while the truth squad closes in. Both "Quiz Show" and "The Hoax" are so artfully told, so skillfully and stylishly shot, that each film transcends its subject matter without detracting from or diluting its substantial suspense.
As "The Hoax" has some (very) minor flaws, I'd like to give it 4.5 stars. But of course, the 'Zon won't let me... so five stars it is!
Rating:  -
When one thinks of "Period Pieces" in the cinema ,pictures of boddice ripping,high-waited Empire dresses and powdered wigs may come to mind.Well, here we have a "Period Piece",but of a different period of flair-bottomed pants,short skirts and a country caught in the throws of an unpopular War.The 1970's were the turbulent Richard Nixon years with the Vietnam War dragging on, the Watergate break in and the numerous White House scandals.If you were there at the time,it was a mess,as America seemed to be coming apart at the seams.The most luminescent"star" figure of the day was the mysterious and most eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (see Leonardo DiCaprio in AVIATOR for more on Hughes) who,to get an exclusive interview with,was a writer's dream and a publishers "coup de grace".Enter Clifford Irving,a novelist (Richard Gere) whose latest novel with Mc Graw-Hill Publishers has been rejected.Irving,with the help of his partner,Richard Susskind ( the most amazing scene stealing performance EVER by Alfred Molina!),hatches an elaborated hoax that persuades McGraw-Hill,and their representative,Andrea Tate (absolutely another show -stopping performance by the underappreciated Hope Davis!)that HE alone has the ear of Howard Hughes and that a subsequent "authorized memoir" is forthcoming.If this story was not absolutely true,it may not be as frightening as it actually is!Irving lies,manuevers,and connives his way into the publishers confidences and convinces the most skeptical of critics that his book is positively the authorized autobiography of Hughes.If you are not familiar with the actual events that transpire then this movie will grip you with the audacity and incredulity of the entire affair.This book not only contains the memoirs of the eccentric billionaire,but more importantly it contains information that,though absolutely accurate and substantiated, can destroy the President and Hughes himself!The problem is that the book IS a hoax.This is the real dilemma that plays out the rest of this film .Devotees of the work of director Lasse Halstrom (CHOCOLAT,CIDER HOUSE RULES,SHIPPING NEWS,CASANOVA,WHAT'S EATING GIBERT GRAPE) will greet his newest creation with much applause.The story is gripping,swiftly and taughtly paced,with two great Oscar- worthy performances by Alfred Molina and Hope Davis.Marcia Gay Harden plays Edith Irving in a much less supportive role and Richard Gere is more than adequate in his portrayal of the conniving,almost manic Irving.The film ,though, truly belongs to Molina and Davis.
THE HOAX evokes an earlier hoax film SHATTERED GLASS and the undoing of one lying writer for The New Republic Periodical.
What the Halstrom film brings to light is that once a person lies,everything they do and say afterwards is met with a jaundiced eye.The fact that Irving later wrote a book entitled THE HOAX concerning the entire Hughes affair shows that the public must always be aware of what they see and hear and are told.That was the 1970's,a period of time, that now filmmakers choose to bring to the screen.These are the "new period pieces" of this Millenium!Along with the recent BOBBY and THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON here is hoping that more films will enlighten audiences in years to come.
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