2018, d. Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood) - Crave
The wife and I had intentions to go see this film in the theatres back in 2018, but just never made it out. As it usually happens, if it's not a big blockbuster Marvel or Star Wars film, we have a much harder time making the effort to get out of the house for an evening. After seeing it garner a whole host of award nominations, it remained fairly high on the "to watch" list, but even once we had access to it, finding the right time to watch meant we put off watching it for months.
This is a great movie about a genuine curmudgeon and gifted writer Lee Israel who famously had forged over 400 celebrity letters, written in their voice, and sold them to book shops and memorabilia stores around New York. Writers and performers would save their showmanship for their writing and the stage, so their communications with friends and acquaintances were likely a lot drier than people would have hoped. So Lee's ability to find the voice, especially the tone of humour, meant she was providing people more of what they wanted out of such treasures than what they usually got with the more authentic items.
The film is a wonderful profile that doesn't just examine Lee Israels' crime, but her desperation, her insecurity, her depression, and most of all, her talent. Her sardonic nature may be difficult to engage with face-to-face but from an outside perspective she's absolutely hilarious. Comedy loves a curmudgeon.
In the time that she started forging letters, she also formed a friendship with Jack Hock, a post-middle-aged gay man, surviving life on the streets with fabulous energy and vigor. Lee generally has a hard time connecting with people, but Jack is so her speed. His energy seems contageous and he is just as quick with a barb as Lee. Plus they like their drink.
But forging letters, especially at the pace Lee seemed to be doing, it was only a matter of time before suspicions were raised. Things fall apart for Lee and Jack, both with their duplicitous gig and with their friendship.
Melissa McCarthy and Richard E Grant both deliver award-worthy performances here, real captivating, fully inhabited chararacters. Both won many critics awards (as did the screenplay) and despite high praise and Oscar Nominations, it made little to no impact at the box office (barely making its budget back). It's a terrific film that will no doubt grow in reputation and appreciation as time rolls on.
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