The Hoax
The Hoax, which is Lasse Hallstrom's latest film, is about writer Clifford Irving's attempt to publish his fake book about Howard Hughes. Hallstrom did a fine job of directing this film and William Wheeler's screenplay is sharp and witty.
Irving (Richard Gere) is fed up with getting his material rejected by publishers. So he comes up with an idea to write a phony "authorized" biography of the wacky tycoon. And he will go to any lengths to make it look authentic. Joining him on his mission is his friend and researcher Richard Susskind (Alfred Molina), who also happens to be a writer. Irving is a pathological liar and he is so good at it that he has the people at McGraw Hill - including Andrea Tate (Hope Davis) and Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci) over a barrel regarding the book. Sure they have some doubts about how true the facts are but they are very anxious to publish it because they think it will be a great success (ah, the greed factor). As good a liar as Irving is he is not very successful with his wife Edith (Marcia Gay Harden) when he tries to convince her that his affair with Nina Van Pallandt (Julie Delpy) is over.
Although I knew how things ended I still found the film quite suspenseful. That is where the good writing and directing comes in. And the film also blends in some political news of the day.
The pre-Watergate Nixon administration is shown in all of its corruption. And there is even mention of Senator George Bush the first. I really liked that touch because it brings the past and the present together in one full swoop.
Gere has never been better. I am happy that he finally found this role in which he can use his talents. And Molina is just terrific as his buddy. The rest of the cast (including Eli Wallach in a small role) is also right on target. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film and found myself laughing a lot of the time. But I was also fascinated by Irving. I wanted to know what made him tick. I understand that the book version of The Hoax will be reissued in conjunction with the film (maybe it is already out) and I intend to read it. If you want to have a good time at the movies but you also want something that is smart then do yourself a favor and check out The Hoax.
Irving (Richard Gere) is fed up with getting his material rejected by publishers. So he comes up with an idea to write a phony "authorized" biography of the wacky tycoon. And he will go to any lengths to make it look authentic. Joining him on his mission is his friend and researcher Richard Susskind (Alfred Molina), who also happens to be a writer. Irving is a pathological liar and he is so good at it that he has the people at McGraw Hill - including Andrea Tate (Hope Davis) and Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci) over a barrel regarding the book. Sure they have some doubts about how true the facts are but they are very anxious to publish it because they think it will be a great success (ah, the greed factor). As good a liar as Irving is he is not very successful with his wife Edith (Marcia Gay Harden) when he tries to convince her that his affair with Nina Van Pallandt (Julie Delpy) is over.
Although I knew how things ended I still found the film quite suspenseful. That is where the good writing and directing comes in. And the film also blends in some political news of the day.
The pre-Watergate Nixon administration is shown in all of its corruption. And there is even mention of Senator George Bush the first. I really liked that touch because it brings the past and the present together in one full swoop.
Gere has never been better. I am happy that he finally found this role in which he can use his talents. And Molina is just terrific as his buddy. The rest of the cast (including Eli Wallach in a small role) is also right on target. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film and found myself laughing a lot of the time. But I was also fascinated by Irving. I wanted to know what made him tick. I understand that the book version of The Hoax will be reissued in conjunction with the film (maybe it is already out) and I intend to read it. If you want to have a good time at the movies but you also want something that is smart then do yourself a favor and check out The Hoax.
posted by Film Fanatic | 3:12 PM
1 Comments:
I've read the book, donkey-ages ago and was absolutely disgusted that when he went down, he also took his girlfriend down (instead of saying she did not know it was a hoax). Why people can't go down by themselves instead of dragging friends down with them (enemies I could understand) is beyond me.
Still, I might see the movie because I like Gere.
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