Greetings again from the darkness. Although not a great filmmaker, director Lasse Hallstrom has a quality resume of films including "An Unfinished Life", "Chocolat", "The Cider House Rules" and his best film, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". It is painful to watch a liar in action ... even on film. It cuts to the core of what makes us human and our natural tendency to believe others. Combine that with another common human trait - greed - and the combination sets us up for real life con artists such as those seen in "Catch Me If You Can" and "Shattered Glass".
This film is based on writer Clifford Irving's implausible con of publishing giant McGraw-Hill as he presented his "The Autobiography of Howard Hughes". His presentation was replete with high quality forged handwritten notes from the reclusive Hughes. Conspiracy theories abound as ties are made to President Nixon, Watergate and judicial system. Also touched on is Hughes' personal secret service that was supposedly loyal and well paid to protect his privacy. The conference call that Hughes makes to shut down the project and expose Mr. Irving was Hughes' last known public "appearance" until his death.
The film is very entertaining and at times funny. If you weren't aware of the mystery surrounding the enigmatic Hughes during this time period, some of the power of the film will be lost. This is without a doubt Richard Gere's best film performance ever. It took much more than his usual posing and preening and mumbling ... this was a real acting job! Strong support work comes from Alfred Molina (as Dick Susskind, Irving's friend and co-conspirator) and a blonde Marcia Gay Harden as Irving's wife. Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Julie Delpy and the great Eli Wallach also have pivotal support roles. It is a pleasure to catch Stuart Margolin in a brief role. Have enjoyed his work since "Rockford Files".
Hallstom deserves some credit for getting the performance from Gere and creating enough suspense and drama for an entertaining two hours. Worth seeing as a reminder that there are some slick con men out there and they may actually be people you kind of like. Don't miss the soundtrack with work from the great and under-appreciated Richie Havens.
This film is based on writer Clifford Irving's implausible con of publishing giant McGraw-Hill as he presented his "The Autobiography of Howard Hughes". His presentation was replete with high quality forged handwritten notes from the reclusive Hughes. Conspiracy theories abound as ties are made to President Nixon, Watergate and judicial system. Also touched on is Hughes' personal secret service that was supposedly loyal and well paid to protect his privacy. The conference call that Hughes makes to shut down the project and expose Mr. Irving was Hughes' last known public "appearance" until his death.
The film is very entertaining and at times funny. If you weren't aware of the mystery surrounding the enigmatic Hughes during this time period, some of the power of the film will be lost. This is without a doubt Richard Gere's best film performance ever. It took much more than his usual posing and preening and mumbling ... this was a real acting job! Strong support work comes from Alfred Molina (as Dick Susskind, Irving's friend and co-conspirator) and a blonde Marcia Gay Harden as Irving's wife. Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Julie Delpy and the great Eli Wallach also have pivotal support roles. It is a pleasure to catch Stuart Margolin in a brief role. Have enjoyed his work since "Rockford Files".
Hallstom deserves some credit for getting the performance from Gere and creating enough suspense and drama for an entertaining two hours. Worth seeing as a reminder that there are some slick con men out there and they may actually be people you kind of like. Don't miss the soundtrack with work from the great and under-appreciated Richie Havens.