The Hoax (DVD)

For a director that I have always considered to be rather soft and unoriginal, Lasse Hallström has managed to pull off quite the film with The Hoax, a bitingly clever satire that is much better than it has any right to be.

Starring Richard Gere as Clifford Irving, a down on his luck writer, this is not a movie that starts off strong. We are first introduced to Clifford in an entertaining, but wholly unoriginal meeting with executives from McGraw-Hill, his publisher, who tell him how much they love his new novel. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that, after he has spent most of what he expects to be his advance, they decide not to publish it. The actual movie starts about 15 minutes in, when, on vacation with his friend and researcher Dick Suskind (the always great Alfred Molina), their entire hotel is evacuated because Howard Hughes is in for the weekend. The arrival of Hughes inspires Clifford as he begins to concoct the idea for Howard Hughes's "authorized autobiography", forged memos and all. Predictability is out the window at this point as the film becomes increasingly entertaining.

I've always thought of Gere as an aging pretty boy but he manages to overcome his romantic comedy baggage by throwing himself into the role. Despite the slightly distracting dyed hair, you can only revel in the sliminess of the man that is Clifford Irving. Irving does some pretty despicable things and betrays nearly everybody that tries to help him, but Gere plays it all with a winking charisma that makes it impossible not to root for him. Molina is equally enjoyable as his innocent earnestness is the perfect counterpoint to Gere's conniving opportunism.

The real genius of The Hoax, however, comes from Hallström's direction, especially as the content of the movie becomes more political. He makes the wise choice of handling the second half in a much more paranoid, almost delusional style, that can't help but recall the great political thrillers of the '70s. He deftly mixes drama and comedy, and always seems to know when to shoot scenes with style, and when to hold back. He does a great job of immersing us in the heightened reality of the film, making it feel all the more genuine.

As far as the special features go on this disc, unfortunately, they are not at all worth your time. You get two featurettes that do nothing but reiterate what you should have gotten from the movie if you paid any attention at all, deleted and extended scenes that were rightly excised, and two commentaries that are of the "this is what's happening onscreen right now" variety. This is perhaps the most disappointing thing about the DVD, because while I have come to expect blandness like this from producers, the commentary with Hallström and writer William Wheeler had the potential to be extremely interesting.

All in all, The Hoax is a movie that is very much worth owning. Despite a few easily overlooked flaws it is a very well-executed satire that will prove to be infinitely rewatchable. It's a film that's very easy to fall for.