SPOILERS:
I didn't know a lot about the story before seeing this. In fact this wasn't really a must see of mine though I was interested. But I found it to be surprisingly good and I say surprisingly because it was really much better then I expected.
Richard Gere, who I've long felt was under-appreciated as an actor, is excellent as Cliford Irving and does his best work since Chicago. The supporting cast is incredibly good to. It's also FUN to watch which is in itself a bit odd as a lot of these types of movies aren't that fun but The Hoax really is. The movie moves at a snappy pace(maybe a bit to snappy) and the whole story is so fascinating that there is an aspect of being glued to your seat even though it moves quickly and doesn't provide a lot of details about certain things along the way.
That part, to me, is the biggest weakness of The Hoax. There's a lot that's skimmed over. It isn't terribly long and there's just to much material in the running time so certain things just are not explained and I could see at the end where many would be confused. (I certainly was.) I'd have liked to know more about Clifford's ultimate motivations as well as more about certain other characters in the film. There's a scene at the end that seems to contradict what the audience saw earlier but then again maybe it's not a contradiction because it is never fully explained. So there is a strong feeling of frustration at the end because the movie is ultimately so powerful and thought provoking but so non self explanatory.
With that being said, I would still recommend this as a very good movie. I doubt it will win any academy awards(though if a few other things were different I could have seen it being a contender) but it is still an absorbing and interesting film. I'd easily give this around an 8.5 of 10 and would definitely see it again.
I didn't know a lot about the story before seeing this. In fact this wasn't really a must see of mine though I was interested. But I found it to be surprisingly good and I say surprisingly because it was really much better then I expected.
Richard Gere, who I've long felt was under-appreciated as an actor, is excellent as Cliford Irving and does his best work since Chicago. The supporting cast is incredibly good to. It's also FUN to watch which is in itself a bit odd as a lot of these types of movies aren't that fun but The Hoax really is. The movie moves at a snappy pace(maybe a bit to snappy) and the whole story is so fascinating that there is an aspect of being glued to your seat even though it moves quickly and doesn't provide a lot of details about certain things along the way.
That part, to me, is the biggest weakness of The Hoax. There's a lot that's skimmed over. It isn't terribly long and there's just to much material in the running time so certain things just are not explained and I could see at the end where many would be confused. (I certainly was.) I'd have liked to know more about Clifford's ultimate motivations as well as more about certain other characters in the film. There's a scene at the end that seems to contradict what the audience saw earlier but then again maybe it's not a contradiction because it is never fully explained. So there is a strong feeling of frustration at the end because the movie is ultimately so powerful and thought provoking but so non self explanatory.
With that being said, I would still recommend this as a very good movie. I doubt it will win any academy awards(though if a few other things were different I could have seen it being a contender) but it is still an absorbing and interesting film. I'd easily give this around an 8.5 of 10 and would definitely see it again.