Can You Ever Forgive Me?

R

Released Oct 19, 2018

1 hr. 46 min.

Biography

Comedy

Drama

LGBTQ+

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98%

320 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Lee Israel is a frustrated, hard-drinking author who can barely afford to pay her rent or bills in 1990s New York. Desperate for money, Israel soon hatches a scheme to forge letters by famous writers and sell them to bookstores and collectors. When the dealers start to catch on, Lee recruits a dubious friend to help her continue her self-destructive cycle of trickery and deceit.

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Critics Consensus

Deftly directed and laced with dark wit, Can You Ever Forgive Me? proves a compelling showcase for deeply affecting work from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy.

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Audience Member

Decent movie but very slow. Based on a true and one of the few I didn’t flat out love. But this was also about something that doesn’t really interest me.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

Full Review

Steven James R

Not Worth Watching To Fall Asleep. Was A 💩 Movie And Still Is, Melissa Mccarthy Has Done Better Movies Than This One.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

Full Review

Alec B

Lee Israel is the perfect subject for a movie like this. You can't sensationalize the story because her crimes were so esoteric so you have to probe deeper and the results are far more fascinating. McCarthy and Grant are just terrific and the screenplay is filled with wit.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

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Dennis N

Good acting; well presented.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/14/23

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Gareth v

McCarthy and Grant are fantastic in this true life crime dramedy. Heller is a director starting to make a big impression in Hollywood.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/22/23

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Fabrcio A

One of Melissa McCarthy's best performances

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/29/23

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Marielle Heller

Director

Melissa McCarthy

Lee Israel

Richard E. Grant

Jack Hock

Dolly Wells

Anna

Ben Falcone

Alan Schmidt

Gregory Korostishevsky

Andrei

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Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Trailer 1

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

This film takes an altogether different view of the imitation game. By embracing frauds and failures, it achieves greatness on the sly.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 4, 2019

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

As for McCarthy, her performance is less of a revelation than a confirmation of her talents.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 3, 2019

Full Review

Cath Clarke

The Big Issue

Israel is anti-social and aggressive but you do find yourself rooting for her.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 1, 2019

Full Review

Brian T. Carney

Washington Blade

Melissa McCarthy turns in a great performance as the grouchy writer and Richard Grant is terrific as her gay sidekick.

Dec 7, 2022

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

McCarthy and Grant have really nice chemistry and that makes for some entertaining back-and-forths between two otherwise shady people.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 19, 2022

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M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Films about writers are hard to make. Films about real-life writers impersonating multiple celebrities in letters bring an element of some much-welcomed lunacy to a film that makes Can You Ever Forgive Me? more of a literary Catch Me If You Can.

Rated: 3.5

Aug 17, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Lee Israel is a frustrated, hard-drinking author who can barely afford to pay her rent or bills in 1990s New York. Desperate for money, Israel soon hatches a scheme to forge letters by famous writers and sell them to bookstores and collectors. When the dealers start to catch on, Lee recruits a dubious friend to help her continue her self-destructive cycle of trickery and deceit.

Director: Marielle Heller
Executive Producer: Jawal Nga, Pamela Hirsch, Bob Balaban
Screenwriter: Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Archer Gray
Rating: R (Language|Brief Drug Use|Some Sexual References)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 19, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 5, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.8M
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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