The Hoax

Lasse Hallström makes a solid film out of the outrageous life of Clifford Irving who pulled off one of the greatest hoaxes in the US when he fooled several people and a publishing house that he had an exclusive to write the biography of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Assuming that Hughes would never come after him, the events around the book became bigger involving even Nixon who apparently committed the Watergate scandal out of fear of the book. A fine cast including Richard Gere as Irving makes the film enjoyable. The only problem is Hallström's ambiguity with Irving's character who's neither entirely likable nor despicable and the film shifts tones accordingly. Since the audience rely on the director for painting a picture of the main character either way, the film feels less accessible specially that the film never finds the right tone. YRCinema's coverage of films on DVD.