ReelBob: ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ ★★★½

By Bob Bloom

A show-biz adage claims that within every comedian is the desire to play Hamlet.

Well, Melissa McCarthy has found her prince of Denmark in the dowdy personage of Lee Israel, a down-on-her-luck celebrity author who turns to forging letters of famous people to earn rent money.

In “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, McCarthy is not afraid to make herself plain and unpleasant — yet, within her performance is the wherewithal to garner your sympathy and understanding.

Israel is an antisocial, bitter woman, resentful that the world refuses to recognize her literary talents and that writers whom she considers inferior to her are getting multimillion-dollar advances for their books.

She distrusts people, and is someone who would slap away a helping hand.

Israel, who has written biographies of Estée Lauder and Katharine Hepburn, is suffering from writer’s block, as she contemplates a book about former vaudeville and stage star Fanny Brice.

Israel sits in front of her typewriter in her dingy apartment and stares at the keys. No words come forth.

Israel’s behavior is a suit of armor she wears to protect herself from being hurt or disappointed. That, though, does not condone her selfishness or self-centered behavior.

When she attends a party thrown by her agent, Marjorie (Jane Curtin), she simply wanders around eavesdropping on conversations, muttering unflattering comments about others to herself.

She goes into the bathroom and takes half-used rolls of toilet paper. To top it off, on her way out, she steals another guest’s overcoat.

Israel’s conduct is indefensible, but McCarthy allows you room to — not pardon — but at least comprehend her actions.

Life changes for Israel when she goes to a library to research Brice. She finds a letter typed and signed by the performer. Taking it to a bookseller, she learns the letter is worth money — and she is told it would have been worth more if its content had not been so bland.

The wheels begin to turn for Israel, and soon, she is making a decent income by forging, embellishing and selling celebrity letters.

Her only mistake is confiding in her new friend, Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant), a flamboyant and immoral former agent, who survives by dealing in cocaine.

Grant — who, in a career dating back to the early 1980s, has appeared in such films as “Withnail & I,” “Warlock,” “Mountains of the Moon,” “Henry & June” and “The Player” — gives one of his finest performances in years.

His Hock is a rapscallion, an unrepentant moocher who will take advantage of anyone naïve enough to help him.

Hock’s interactions with Israel bring her nothing but sorrow and tragedy. They are the oddest of down-and-out odd couples.

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” belongs to McCarthy. Her Israel is unkempt, nasty, frumpy and salty. She realizes she is doing wrong but justifies it to herself by claiming she is creating literary works.

McCarthy embodies a loner, yearning for but afraid to reach a connection. Beneath her brittleness is a vulnerability aching for acceptance, respect and — most of all — love.

It is a stunningly subtle and heartbreaking performance distilled with sharp wit and repartee that will have you laughing, even while you are aghast at Israel’s scams.

After the FBI arrests Israel, and she is in court, the judge asks her if she wishes to make a statement. Israel apologizes and admits to doing wrong, but she also says it was the happiest time of her life — not because she was making ill-gotten gain, but because she again began to believe in herself as a writer.

It is a moment of rueful self-reflection and triumph, heightened by the emotional depth McCarthy brings to her character.

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” is a coup for McCarthy and Grant. Both deserve Academy Award nominations, as does the film and the direction of Marielle Heller, who takes us into crevices and dark corners of New York and the damaged souls of two hurting and deceitful individuals.

I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
3½ stars out of 4
(R), language, drug use, violence