Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Director: Marielle Heller
Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells
Runtime: 106 minutes

Synopsis: When Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.

Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 8/10
Costumes/Makeup: 9/10
Editing: 8/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10

Verdict: Nominated for 3 Academy Awards, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" was mainly praised for the performances of its two leads: Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant. And while I do agree that they both did a fantastic job portraying respectively Lee Israel, a forgotten writer who turned her career into a criminal one when faced with financial problems, and her friend and partner in crime, Jack Hock, I found the real star of this film to be its story.

Beautifully directed by Marielle Heller, the movie, which is based on Israel's own memoir of the same name, does a great job at introducing us to a fascinating character not many people have heard of before. She presents her story in a way that felt incredibly natural and that had me invested for its entire runtime, with my only issue being the fact that the chemistry between the main characters never quite felt as authentic as the excellent performances behind them.  

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" is Heller's second directorial outing following her 2015 debut in "The Diary of a Teenage Girl", which I thoroughly enjoyed as well. She has now proved that she's a talent to look out for, and is one of the main reasons why I'm looking forward to her next project due later this year, which is going to be a biopic about Mister Rogers starring Tom Hanks.  

FINAL GRADE: 8/10

To see how "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" compares to other movies released in 2018, click here.