I was interested in this film because I'm a big fan of Orson Welles' "F For Fake". Those who enjoy "The Hoax" and haven't seen Welles' film should seek it out for a truly great treat, because then you'll be able to compare Gere's performance as Clifford Irving with the real Clifford Irving, or at least as close to the real Irving as any camera can capture. I have to say that I usually detest Richard Gere, and he can be a horrible actor even with a good director. It seems like he usually holds something back and tries really hard to make all his characters "charming" in a kind of generic way. But Richard Gere was born to play Clifford Irving, with his ratlike face and devil's smile. All the fake charm that Gere has spent an entire career projecting sits on Irving's shoulders quite comfortably.
This film only briefly touches on the subject of Irving's biography of Elmyr D'Hory, and is mainly about his great hoax to convince the world that he had written Howard Hughes' autobiography along with the famously reclusive billionaire. Along with his researcher Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina), Gere trots from Mexico to Vegas in pursuit of information that will make his book stand up, and in a grand moment of self-delusional folly believes that Hughes himself will not be bothered to refute the book. Ultimately he uncovers information that he believes will be damaging to the Nixon administration, and becomes convinced that "Howard is with us!" and that Hughes wants to see the book published. But does Hughes really want Irving to succeed, or is he simply using him as a pawn in his game? Gere could only give such a great performance in the role of an actor. But I can't imagine the movie with anybody else, and if he does nothing else worthwhile in his career then I would praise him just for this. It's a funny movie ("He gave me a prune!"), with some interesting ideas about the art of fakery, and it generally avoids the peril and cheap allure of making Irving too sympathetic or heroic. We constantly see both Irving as he sees himself -- a man of destiny, the next Hemmingway -- and Irving as most others see him -- a predatory con-man who abuses the trust placed in him by even his closest friends and lovers. Director Lasse Hallstrom, as he has for his whole career, does not allow stylistic flourish to clutter up the film but instead focuses intently on the characters. The resulting film is effective, but very odd -- a very understated movie about a very overstated human being.
This film only briefly touches on the subject of Irving's biography of Elmyr D'Hory, and is mainly about his great hoax to convince the world that he had written Howard Hughes' autobiography along with the famously reclusive billionaire. Along with his researcher Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina), Gere trots from Mexico to Vegas in pursuit of information that will make his book stand up, and in a grand moment of self-delusional folly believes that Hughes himself will not be bothered to refute the book. Ultimately he uncovers information that he believes will be damaging to the Nixon administration, and becomes convinced that "Howard is with us!" and that Hughes wants to see the book published. But does Hughes really want Irving to succeed, or is he simply using him as a pawn in his game? Gere could only give such a great performance in the role of an actor. But I can't imagine the movie with anybody else, and if he does nothing else worthwhile in his career then I would praise him just for this. It's a funny movie ("He gave me a prune!"), with some interesting ideas about the art of fakery, and it generally avoids the peril and cheap allure of making Irving too sympathetic or heroic. We constantly see both Irving as he sees himself -- a man of destiny, the next Hemmingway -- and Irving as most others see him -- a predatory con-man who abuses the trust placed in him by even his closest friends and lovers. Director Lasse Hallstrom, as he has for his whole career, does not allow stylistic flourish to clutter up the film but instead focuses intently on the characters. The resulting film is effective, but very odd -- a very understated movie about a very overstated human being.