Hoax

Richard Gere
Alfred Molina
Hope Davis
Marcia Gay Harden
Stanley Tucci
Julie Delpy
Eli Wallach

Directed by: Lasse Halstrom

Very rarely are we treated to a taught psychological thriller that both keeps us on the edge of our seat in anticipation of the next scene and leaves us feeling that the film was made for more than just the third reel shock and twist. Hoax manages to do both while at the same time weaving a fully visualized world that is both informative, entertaining, and most impressively, completely engaging. Richard Gere plays Clifford Irving, a literary novelist desperately trying to get a novel mass published. After his latest attempt is rejected and he is relegated to dealing with assistants just to pitch any ideas, he hatches a plan. With the help of a friend, they will create an autobiography of the notoriously reclusive Howard Hughes. The big problem of course, is that he has never met the man and is trying to perpetrate a massive hoax. As the novel progresses, Irving finds himself getting deeper and deeper into a web of deceit that he can’t possibly get himself out of. In order to fully perpetrate the hoax, Irving digs into Hughes’ life and ends up becoming a victim of the fantasies and paranoia that plagued the billionaire.

The casting of both Irving (played by Gere), and his friend Dick Susskind (played by Alfred Molina), is absolutely inspired. Richard Gere is exuberant and brings the energy and enthusiasm that he does to most of his films and watching him play a man digging a hole deeper and deeper with no way of getting out all the while sporting his famous grin is a treat. He has played questionable characters in the past that seem more than happy to be a little sleazy, but this role seems hand made for him. His performance turns deeper and more impressive as the grin is wiped away and the hole he is in starts to cave in around him. His performance in this film is secondary to Molina as the understated but obviously deeply disturbed Dick Sisskind. This movie is worth the price of admission just for these performances alone. The supporting cast manages to hold their own and the ensemble only helps to elevate an already intriguing and engaging movie.

The story of Clifford Irving seems tailor made for the big screen. A larger than life scam that can’t possibly end well made all the more unbelievable with a well paced script and held together by acting that should have people talking about this film for quite a while makes this the most impressive film I’ve seen this year.


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