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Review #446 of 365
Movie Review of The Hoax (2007) [R] 115 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.75
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 14 April 2007
Time: 7:40 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
DVD Release Date: 16 October 2007
Directed by: Lasse Hallström (Casanova)
Screenplay by: William Wheeler (The Prime Gig) based on the novel, The Hoax by Clifford Irving
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Richard Gere (Bee Season) • Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code) • Hope Davis (Infamous) • Marcia Gay Harden (American Dreamz) • Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada)
Soundtrack: Download now from
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Director Lasse Hallström has never shied away from a challenge, so it should be no different when attempting to take on the real life story of one of the grandest hoaxes of all time—the Clifford Irving biography of Howard Hughes. William Wheeler based the screenplay for the film on Irving's own book and account of the events that led him to attempt to deftly swindle his publishers out of more than a million dollars under the auspices of writing the only authorized and accurate biography of reclusive billionaire, Howard Hughes. Richard Gere takes on the role of Irving with Marcia Gay Harden as his wife, Edith, and Alfred Molina as his best friend and researcher, Dick Susskind.
"… Richard Gere delivers a magnificent performance shot straight from the hip…"
Now, for those uninformed about the story, it's relatively so simple as to be so grandiose as to be believable which is exactly what Irving needs. He gets the idea that he'll write the definitive biography of Howard Hughes utilizing notes and research and data acquired under false pretenses filled with just enough fact as to offset his own fiction. The scheme will work, he believes, precisely because no one will be able to believe it they'll have to believe it. Using forged, handwritten letters on legal paper, he writes a letter to be from Howard to himself indicating the exclusive arrangement for the biography and his terms for the rights to his life story. Irving, a lesser well known author with big vision and high hopes for success, has been selected precisely because Howard knows this way he'll be the story and not Irving, or so surmises Andrea Tate (Hope Davis), publishing magnate. Things start off and continue to steamroll onward as Irving spins the yarn and pulls the wool over more and more people. Things work, for the most part, and he survives some close calls mostly brought on by the suspicious Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci) and Dick himself. At the center of it though, is a political scandal brewing over illegal campaign contributions that could bring down the Nixon presidency.
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Richard Gere delivers a magnificent performance shot straight from the hip as if he were truly destined for this role all along. With a zest of womanizing and whimsical good-looking charm, he bests the best of them all bringing Irving to life in spectacular fashion. He overwhelms everyone else in the cast, who cannot help but play in the chorus to this maestro. Alfred Molina comes the closest to deserving to be in the same frames, though his portrayal of this wishy-washy character opposite Gere begins to grate after a time. Poor Marcia Gay Harden seems a woefully incongruous match for Gere's Irving with her trumped up German accent and frauline gruff tendencies. Her acting skills simply didn't match the role's requirements leaving her standing out like a sore thumb through most of her scenes. Fortunately, the focus of the film and the story is on Irving, and Gere maximizes the role for all it's worth offering never a dull moment. He's Irving from the first moment, so what's really amazing is when he begins to absorb, as must have Irving in real life, the persona of Howard Hughes himself. Mimicking his voice for tapes to later prove his conversations with Hughes were real, Gere picks up the dialect and vocal qualities of Hughes. Truly, this could be the earliest call for Oscar® buzz for an actor's performance in a long time. And so it should be, there's no reason all of the best performances must be confined to films released in the fall Why not get a jump start on the competition? Mr. Hallström took no short cuts in authentically replicating the look and feel of the late 60s and early 70s—at times the film looks positively black and white. My favorite aspect of this were Andrea Tate's surely mod squad business attire and the décor of the publishing house wait room with it's faux mod fashion furniture. While the film has some weaknesses, Ms. Harden's misguided performance, the slow pacing of the middle third, and some focus on really needless details such as the long-winded scene where Irving and Susskind sneak out to Vegas to pick the brain of an engineer recently retired from Howard Hughes's inner circle. Where's Kinko's when you need one?, overall, the film is worthy of a viewing just for Gere's performance alone.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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Other Projects Featuring The Hoax (2007)
Cast Members
Richard Gere
• Alfred Molina • Hope DavisMarcia Gay Harden
• Stanley TucciDirector
Lasse Hallström
Screenwriter
William Wheeler
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| Related Book | Related Book | Related DVD |
The Hoax (2007) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Director Lasse Hallström has never shied away from a challenge, so it should be no different when taking on the story of the grandest hoax of all time—the Clifford Irving biography of Howard Hughes. William Wheeler based the screenplay for the film on Irving's own book and account of the events that led him to attempt to deftly swindle his publishers out of more than a million dollars under the auspices of writing the only authorized and accurate biography of the reclusive billionaire. Richard Gere plays the role of Irving delivering a magnificent performance shot straight from the hip as if he were truly destined for this role all along. While the film has some weaknesses, Marcia Gay Harden's misguided performance, the slow pacing of the middle third, and some focus on really needless details, overall, the film is worthy of a viewing just for Gere's portrayal of Irving alone.
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