Frustrated writer Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) decides to write a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes; he does his best to convince the publisher that it is real, and is paid a lot of money, but then things start to fall apart.

CRITIQUE

The Hoax is based on the true story of Clifford Irving, who in 1972, with the aid of his friend Dick Suskind managed to forge letters and other documentation to convince Random House to ultimately pay over $1 million for an autobiography that wasn’t true.  Though this could have made for some dry storytelling, as presented here this is largely involving, while it also has a satirical element that serves it well; it is worth a look.

One of the interesting things here is the perfect confluence of events that made such a hoax possible.  At the time there was such a thirst for information about Howard Hughes that people wanted to believe the book was real, while because Hughes was such an eccentric, private man (who was facing a TWA lawsuit if he went to court), Irving knew that he’d have a better chance because Hughes couldn’t publicly challenge the truth of the book.

The difficult thing in telling this tale is that it is a lot of talk and not much action, while writing itself isn’t a particularly visual exercise.  But director Lasse Hallstrom gets around this by staging a lot of the writing scenes as Irving imitating Hughes dictating into a tape recorder, or by focusing on the information that Irving and Suskind were able to get their hands on (often stealing it) that helped give their manuscript an additional feel of authenticity.

The tale is driven nicely by the fact that we want Irving to succeed; as he tries to fool the publishers, or tries to fend off other threats along the way, it all works because we identify with Irving as a character so much.  Richard Gere does a good job in the role of Irving; he is in almost every scene, and he does a good job making Irving likable, while Irving is driven as much by the challenge of what he is doing as well as for the fame.  Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden do a good job as Suskind and as Irving’s wife.

The tale drags a bit in the second half, as we wait for things to come to a head.  But there are some interesting turns along the way (particularly when Irving finds himself being used as a pawn by Hughes), while the fact that this did all happen adds some punch to it all.  The result is involving and memorable, and though it’s probably best as a rental, it is worth checking out.

THE VIDEO

The Hoax is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen on one side.  The picture quality was okay, though there are no major demands on it.

THE AUDIO

The Hoax is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Surround.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There is a Spanish language soundtrack, as well as English, French and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

There are Two Commentaries, one featuring director Lasse Hallstrom and writer William Wheeler, the other featuring producers Leslie Holleran and Joshua D. Maurer.  Both are a bit dry yet informative, focused a lot on the challenges of making this story cinematic, which involved a lot of reinventing of locations and juggling with time.

Stranger Than Fiction is a fairly standard 9-minute making-of featurette that talks about Irving and the hoax.

Reflections on a Con features Mike Wallace remembering his 60 Minutes interview with Irving, and how he was fooled.

There are 13 minutes of fairly unexciting Deleted Scenes, with optional commentary by Hallstrom and Wallace.  There is also a 6-minute Extended Scene of a restaurant sequence.

FINAL THOUGHT

The Hoax is an intriguing movie, a glimpse into real-life events, and a solid performance by Richard Gere.  It’s worth a look.