The Hoax

Posted by Danny Gallagher (danny@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 17, 2007

The one recurring thought that will run through your head while you watch “The Hoax,” the story of author Clifford Irving who faked the autobiography of Howard Hughes, is “How will they pull this off?” and that applies to both the film and the story.

The question for the story comes from trying to understand how someone so obviously talented and gifted can be so reckless to fake the autobiography of one of the most famous men in the world and thinks he can not only get away with it, but get the real Hughes to go along with him. The question for the film comes from trying to figure how to make such a movie interesting when you already know how it’s going to end.

The answer to both questions may surprise you.

Irving, played by Richard Gene, is a down on his luck author for a major publishing firm who in the heat of the moment tells his higher-ups that he’s working on “the greatest book of the 20th century.” With his friend and fellow author Dick Suskind, played by Alfred Molina, and his wife Edith, played by Marcia Gay Harden, they conspire to write Hughes’ autobiography by lying the whole way through it and cashing in on both the writer’s and Hughes’ fee. It sounds like the literary world’s most suicidal move, but it’s quite brilliant in its own way since Hughes was famous for being a social recluse who avoided every spotlight thrown at his feet and stayed well out of the public’s curious eye.

Of course, in order to make his autobiography seem authentic, they have to lie their way into government buildings in order to access his research and learn about his personal mannerisms and speak to the people who knew without getting their lies crossed. The lies, of course, grow and grow so Irving can cover his tracks, even when the real Hughes steps out of the shadows to discredit him.

Such a reckless man requires an equally reckless performance and Gere takes off the brakes and lets his take on Irving fly at full speed to the closing credits. He bounces around the screen as Irving, a sometimes easily flustered but bold man, tries to maneuver his way around the people he’s trying to trick, sometimes even the people who are in the know with him. Molina plays the straight man for most of his scenes with Gere, but he gives a powerful, heartfelt performance that adds a light touch of drama to Gere’s wacky character. Harden seems a little less believable as Gere’s blond Swiss wife, but she’s good where it counts.

The range of the story can literally go from funny to dramatic to suspenseful from scene to scene and even manages to trick the audience who think they already know what is going to happen. Historic reenactments that serve to let the audience take a look behind the scenes such as “The Hoax” work best as a film when they don’t pull back the entire curtain all at once and screenwriter William Wheeler and director Lasse Hallstrom seem to be the same wavelength. They both know when and how much to give the audience a peek at the man behind the curtain to keep them interested and enthralled the whole way through.

Grade: A-

Release Date: October 16, 2007 Rated: R Running Time: 115 minutes Number of Discs: 1 Cast: Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, Marcia Gay Harden Director: Lasse Hallstrom Studio: Miramax

Read more articles by Danny Gallagher