Les faussaires de Manhattan

Melissa McCarthy has created a character, in her career that could keep her in lucrative employment without taking any risks.

Kudos to her for playing this risky a role, and pulling it off with aplomb. Richard E Grant is whimsy to her determination, but she successfully breathes life into a complex character.

Great film

This is a very different story as it for once gives a true life crime story of someone falling into crime to pay the bills and seeing if from their angle without dressing it up or looking for empathy and sympathy for the perpetrator. It is not embellished too much to make it overly dramatic as Hollywood too often does, which I think makes the film, it is a quite ordinary but great tale.

Mellisa McCarthy and Richard E Grant are both superb in their roles. McCarthy makes you believe the character was written just for her and Grant plays an excellent British eccentric, again a role that you almost feel no one else could have played.

One of the best films of 2019 so far for me.

A great story, which made me sigh and left me warm. Richard E Grant was superb, doing the Richard he does do well, his eyes overflowing with feeling at times. Melissa embodied and created her character equally. Superb.

Some cracking quotes such as: Lounge Singer: This next song goes out to all the agoraphobic junkies who couldn't be here tonight.

I had laughs, sighs, a gasp or two and a cracking story. Fully entertained, I loved it.

8/10

I must first confess that I was pleasantly surprised by the exceptional performance of the actress Melissa McCarthy who is (was?) almost-systematically accustomed to cinematographic pieces of junk such as Mère incontrôlable à la fac (2018), S.O.S. fantômes (2016) or Charlie et ses drôles de dames (2000). I sincerely hope that this film will mark a turning point in her career, with a before and an after.

Then, the subject is not really bankable: no superhero, no sexy actress, no Computer-Generated Imagery. In addition, the main characters are two insignificant loosers who will attract the wrath of the FBI because of their secret activity of a two-penny faker and will then be within an inch of jail. Of course, with such a script, the movie will probably not be a hit at the world box-office.

Nevertheless, the movie is delightfully excellent and describes with subtlety and sensitivity an ineluctable descent into the abyss. Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) was a writer with some success. One of her books was even mentioned in the New York Times best sellers. But, success is now part of the past and she regularly has huge difficulties in paying her rent. By chance, in an old book of a public library, she discovers a real typed letter from a well-known female writer. Begins then an improvised career of a scammer with false letters from real personalities that she skillfully engineers within her shabby apartment.

As a synthesis, Les faussaires de Manhattan (2018) is excellent! 8/9 of 10

After the abysmal Ghostbusters remake and the endlessly panned Happytime Murders, true fans of McCarthy will be glad to see her redemption in this dramatic turn. McCarthy really shines in her role as author Lee Israel and effortlessly portrays the loneliness and insecurity of her character. Her rapport with Grant (and even with the cat) is wonderful, and the writing is clever. This was a surprising and delightful highlight at Telluride this year.