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Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a biographical drama based on the memoir of writer Lee Israel. The film follows the declining career of a writer, who turns to illegally forging and selling letters from deceased authors to pay her bills. Melissa McCarthy proves she is not just a comedy actress with an emotional and powerful performance. Her character’s poor social skills and irritability could have easily caused the audience to dislike her, however Melissa McCarthy manages to show her underlying emotions in such a subtle and heart-warming way we instantly feel a connection to her. Richard E Grant plays her flamboyant friend, and successfully portrays a character who is playing a character himself to hide his anxieties and problems, which is very difficult. The chemistry the two have and the way their characters juxtapose each other resulted in both laughter and tears from me. The story is simple, yet I was constantly engaged and I felt nervous and apprehensive for her when she thought her secret had been discovered. I didn’t know of many of the writers she impersonated in the letters, however this didn’t impact my understanding or enjoyment of the film, so don’t worry if you have a limited knowledge of literary greats. The main theme in this film is loneliness, and the idea that even extremely independent people who claim to love being alone need someone to support them and help them every now and again. Everyone has experienced loneliness before, therefore this theme makes the film relatable and realistic. The film also tackles the idea of not knowing how to find or express yourself, which is explored through the wonderful irony of Lee finally discovering who she is and why her life has gone the way it has by impersonating other people and writing about their lives. Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a lovely film with excellent acting, impressive dialogue and strong messages, and I loved it.
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