Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller, 2018)

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller, 2018)

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Gregory Korostishevsky, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella, Christian Navarro, Anna Deavere Smith. Screenplay: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty. Cinematography: Brandon Trost. Production design: Stephen H. Carter. Film editing: Anne McCabe. Music: Nate Heller.

Malcontents make for good movie material -- just look at the success of Todd Phillips's Joker, a current box office hit despite decidedly mixed reviews. Not that Lee Israel, the subject of Can You Ever Forgive Me? has much in common with the psychotic character played (some would say overplayed) by Joaquin Phoenix. Lee is just a little larcenous, not murderous. But she has a similarly sour view of humankind, which she feels has rejected her talents as a writer. She looks to get even with the literary world -- and to shore up her dwindling income -- by forging letters from the likes of Fanny Brice, Noël Coward, and Dorothy Parker. And she has just enough talent to bring it off. Melissa McCarthy is superb in the role, which earned her an Oscar nomination; she knows when to soften Lee's hard edges, so that we don't lose complete sympathy for her. And it helps that she has the fine character actor Richard E. Grant, who also got an Oscar nomination, to play off of: Grant's seedy gay layabout, Jack Hock, is just a few moral levels below Lee, making him the perfect foil for her character. Can You Ever Forgive Me? is only Marielle Heller's second film as a director, and it's nicely paced, except for a few moments when it feels as if something has been left on the cutting-room floor. The introduction of Anna Deavere Smith as Elaine, Lee's friend and apparently her former lover, seems to come out of nowhere and linger there awkwardly. But Heller also handles the sexual tension that develops between Lee and Anna (Dolly Wells), the bookseller who buys Lee's first forgery, with subtlety: We sense Anna's quiet disappointment when Lee walks away from her shy attempt to make a move. Can You Forgive Me? feels a little ragged in its resolution, as if the film has run out of story to tell once Lee has been caught, and it ends with the usual title summaries of what happened to the real-life Lee and Jack, a crutch that biographical films too often rely on. But it's full of witty moments and performers who make the most of them.

The Disaster Artist (James Franco, 2017)

Dave Franco and James Franco in The Disaster Artist

Greg Sestero: Dave Franco
Tommy Wiseau: James Franco
Sandy: Seth Rogen
Juliette: Ari Graynor
Amber: Alison Brie
Carolyn: Jacki Weaver
Raphael: Paul Scheer
Dan / Chris-R: Zac Efron
Philip / Denny: Josh Hutcherson
Robin: June Diane Raphael
Mrs. Sestero: Megan Mullally
Iris Burton: Sharon Stone
Jean Shelton: Melanie Griffith

Director: James Franco
Screenplay: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Based on a book by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell
Cinematography: Brandon Trost
Production design: Chris L. Spellman
Film editing: Stacey Schroeder
Music: Dave Porter

The title, The Disaster Artist, doesn't refer directly to James Franco, but it sometimes seems as if it should. In a year full of men stepping on their own genitalia, Franco's misstep was particularly painful. Just as the raves were coming in not only for his directing and acting in The Disaster Artist but also for his work in a dual role on HBO's The Deuce, there came a series of allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 2014. Franco had been thought to be a strong contender for Oscar nominations for both directing and acting, but was shut out of those categories: The Disaster Artist received only one nomination, for the screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. We're not at the point yet where recent filmmakers' work can be judged independently of their personal lives -- the way, say, we appreciate the work of past artists without referring to the less admirable sides of their lives. To the extent that I can shut out Franco's alleged misconduct from any consideration of his movie, I have to say that it's a delight, a witty, observant portrait of a grandly mysterious eccentric whose age, country of origin, and source of income have still never been fully documented. It's also a film about the movies, about the joy and pain of making them, exhilarating even when the product, Tommy Wiseau's The Room (2003), is widely derided as one of the worst movies ever made. Franco's performance is a great gallery of mannerisms into which the actor himself fully disappears -- although there are some who would say that Franco's own reputation for ego-tripping is an essential jumping-off point for the character. But the film is also a directorial showcase, in which Franco shows skill that his other work hadn't previously manifested. The Disaster Artist is full of tasty bits, such as Melanie Griffith's cameo as an acting teacher and Sharon Stone's as an agent. As Greg Sestero, Dave Franco serves to keep the wacked-out narrative on course, and it's fun to watch the brothers play off of each other.