'Can You Forgive Me?' is very flawed, with fantastic performances

Can You Forgive Me? is one of those movies where the trailer pretty much gives away the whole store. It's not a particularly high stakes albeit true story -- it's about a malcontent, struggling writer named Lee Israel who sells pretentious letters to pretentious people for a several hundred dollars a pop.

It all heads to what feels like an inevitable climax and while it is frequently entertaining -- I found myself asking more internal questions than I would have liked to. I wondered why so many people bought Israel's scam, and also wondered why she was such a bitter, emotionally stunted person.

With the exception of a mostly alluded to failed previous relationship, Can You Forgive Me? doesn't shed much light on that latter point, and I suppose that's fine. I am not entirely sure that the film has a definitive take on Israel's actions. I guess we're supposed to think that she was too talented for this boondoggle and if only she'd been more willing to share her own talent she wouldn't have had to sink so low.

But unfortunately the film does little to establish that Israel is this great talent, besides showing collectors and bookstore owners being in awe of her forgeries. I'm not sure how a film can convey someone is a great writer per se, but I do know this one misses the mark.

What is fantastic about it though is Melissa McCarthy, who gives a compelling and credible dramatic performance here which shows the range and depth I've always thought she was capable of, but has all too frequently buried in broad comedies.

She has become a most unconventional movie star since she broke through in Bridesmaids back in 2011. Quietly but steadily she's been one of the more bankable names in Hollywood.

But in Can You Forgive Me? she is clearly trying to do something more than her usual physical dynamism, and she deserves kudos for that.

Israel is not an especially likable character (the only thing she seems to love is her sick cat) and it's hard to make audiences care about a sullen, sad sack of a person -- but McCarthy is so funny, engaging and ultimately heartbreaking in the role, that she keeps your interest, even if the movie surrounding her has these glaring flaws.

She's also aided tremendously by the characteristically witty and charming Richard E. Grant as her vagabond, promiscuous sidekick turned co-conspirator. When they are on screen together, their chemistry is palpable and the movie comes alive.

I wish that the movie generated more suspense, but instead it feels inevitable that Israel will eventually be found out and so what's valuable about the movie is the pure performance moments delivered by McCarthy and Grant, which thankfully there are many.

I will say that every Oscar season there's usually at least one awards contender that is just sort of ho-hum for me. I don't hate them per se, but I also don't fundamentally see what all the fuss is about. Brooklyn from a few years back was one of those movies for me, and this is another.

That said, Grant and McCarthy seem almost assured to score Oscar nominations for their work here and if they get them, they'll be totally deserved.