fbpx

Its hard for me to review this film in its own context. On the one hand it is marvelously executed and performed on the other hand it rehashes material from what I consider to be one of the best movies of all time; Orson Welles F for Fake. The dynamic in The Hoax is a staunch departure from F for Fake and its celebration of deception and its ambiguous assertions of truth versus fiction. The Hoax takes a far more conservative, narrative route in its structure, however, it still has elements of whimsey because of director Lasse Hallström choice to allow for improvisation of scenes. It allows for the film to break out of what would otherwise be a staid narrative and become a visceral example of the act of lying.

The film is far from judgmental in its pursuit of truth and chooses instead to enjoy the game Clifford Irving set forth and refrain from didactic notions of “truthâ€? versus “realityâ€?. With superb performances by Richard Gere and Alfred Molina The Hoax is worth a viewing. It stands in the shadow of giants but fares well if F for Fake is a solid 10 I would say The Hoax is a 7.5. At thats saying a lot considering Orson Welles’ notoriety.

Share This
%d bloggers like this: