Following the critical and commercial failure of her biography of Estée Lauder, author Lee Israel struggles with financial troubles, writer’s block and alcoholism. With her agent unable to secure her an advance for a new biography, Israel is forced to sell her possessions to cover her expenses; she sells a personal letter she received from Katharine Hepburn to Anna, a local book dealer.
While conducting research for a novel about Fanny Brice, Israel happens upon a letter from Brice folded in a book, which she takes and offers to sell to Anna. She offers Israel a low price due to the letter’s lack of interesting content. Israel begins to forge and sell letters by deceased writers, playwrights, and actors, lacing them with intimate details to command a higher price. Anna, who is a fan of Israel’s own writing, attempts to initiate a romantic relationship with her, but is rebuffed.
When one of Israel’s letters written by Noël Coward raises suspicion for its unguarded discussion of his sexuality, she is blacklisted by her buyers. Unable to sell the forgeries herself, she has her friend Jack Hock sell the letters for her, and later steals authentic letters from library archives to sell. After her cat dies under Jack’s care during one such theft, Israel ends their friendship, but continues their partnership out of necessity.
Jack is caught by the FBI during a sale who, with Jack’s co-operation, serve Israel with a court summons for forgery. She retains a lawyer, who advises her to show contrition by getting a job, doing community service, and joining Alcoholics Anonymous. In court, Israel confesses that she enjoyed making the forgeries and does not regret her actions, but that her crimes were not worth it because the letters do not show her true self as a writer. She is sentenced to five years of probation and six months of house arrest.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Marielle Heller and with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on Lee Israel’s 2008 memoir of the same name. It stars Melissa McCarthy as Israel and follows her as she tries to revitalize her failing writing career by forging letters from deceased authors and playwrights.[4] It also features Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Jane Curtin, Anna Deavere Smith, Stephen Spinella, and Ben Falcone in supporting roles.
The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2018, and was released in the United States on October 19, 2018, by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It received critical acclaim with major praise drawn towards McCarthy’s and Grant’s performances. The film was named by the National Board of Review as one of the top ten of 2018, while at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, McCarthy and Grant received nominations for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Directed by: Marielle Heller
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Gregory Korostishevsky, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella, Christian Navarro, Pun Bandhu, Brandon Scott Jones
Screenplay by: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty
Production Design by: Stephen H. Carter
Cinematography by: Brandon Trost
Film Editing by: Anne McCabe
Costume Design by: Arjun Bhasin
Set Decoration by: Sarah E. McMillan
Art Direction by: Marci Mudd
Music by: Nate Heller
MPAA Rating: R for language including some sexual references, and brief drug use.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: October 19, 2018
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