I’ve written a few times this season about liking or caring about characters in a film and about how that leaves one feeling as the closing credits roll. Can You Ever Forgive Me? is particularly challenging in that aspect. These characters, on their surface, are quite unlikeable. Yet the depth the actors bring to the characters made me cheer for them in a way. I didn’t cheer for their success in their endeavors, but I did cheer for their, for lack of a better words, salvation. I found myself caring about them even if I didn’t really like them. I realized this made for a wonderful film experience.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? brings to the screen the memoir penned by the protagonist, Lee Israel, a biographer who is sad. And angry. Bitter. Hopeless. Closed off. And fraudulent. It’s the latter that makes her tale one worthy of her telling it. And as awful as her actions were, Melissa McCarthy’s life that she brings to Israel portrays the layers of why she took the path she did. McCarthy does this so well that in spite of all of the negative character qualities that glare on the screen, you see through to the person underneath. That deeper person of Israel is covered by the sadness and hopelessness. But McCarthy shows her as this person who has a great capacity to love.
As for McCarthy vs Close? As strong as Close’s performance was in The Wife, I preferred McCarthy’s performance. That said, I still suspect Close takes home the Oscar.
Richard E. Grant plays alongside McCarthy, and he too brings this underlying charm and sweetness that won me over in spite of his actions. The two of them together, playing off of each other, against each other, and for each other create a mesmerizing duo.
I’ve seen all five of the adapted screenplay movies, and this by far is my favorite. This story is so rich that although I did not read Israel’s memoir, I felt like I had as the story on the screen pulled me in like any well-written book.
The story is dark. It’s unhappy. But the film is great.