perceptive and thought-provoking adaptation of Clifford Irving’s own memoirs about one of the most shocking of all tales of deception and fraud, “The Hoax” features Richard Gere and Alfred Molina in their best performances in years. Fueling the implausible actions of Irving is a first-rate screenplay by William Wheeler (and many of the words of Irving himself), filled with bits of humor, knavery, and even thrills. While the film does slow in several spots, taking it’s time to build up key events, the incalculable number of lies invented by the protagonist – at breakneck speeds – to alleviate every predicament will have audiences quite anxious to see how it all turns out.

Cliff Irving (Richard Gere) is at a low point in his life when his newest novel is condemned from publication. With a shaky marriage and the habit of spending money he doesn’t have, Irving teams up with his good friend Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina) to pitch the most important novel of the century: the autobiography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. The catch? It’s entirely a fake. Desperate for fame and fortune, he creates an elaborate hoax, involving forging Hughes’ writing and breaking a few laws to dig up information on the infamous solitudinarian. As an increasing number of people begin to doubt the authenticity of his story, Irving realizes just how deep he is into a scheme out of which he can’t hope to escape with his dignity intact.

Gere’s performance is sensational, bringing elusive charm and personality to the compulsive liar he depicts. Portraying an everyman who is not particularly unique or skilled is a new avenue for the veteran actor. Spinning webs of deceit at every turn, the character runs into numerous problems – some physically violent, some requiring hilarious craftiness, and some that may just be further fabrications existing only in his mind. But each scenario gives Gere an opportunity to infuse humor and morality into the mix, without the scripting resorting to unrealistic theatrics. And Alfred Molina keenly portrays Irving’s partner-in-crime, representing a superego of conscience, regret, and calculating hesitation – a very human role quite suitable for the man who recently appeared as a tentacled supervillain in “Spider-Man 2.”

Though “The Hoax” is an in-depth biopic of Irving, it also manages to be a prime character study for a static individual – as well as a chance to shed some light on a few controversial, historical details involving Nixon and possible funding by Hughes. Audiences are invited to witness choice, intercut footage of both Hughes and Nixon, and some conspiratorial dealings uncovered by Irving. Considering that nearly everything Irving proclaimed was completely fictitious, it’s hard to know which aspects of his story might by true, especially when accounting for how much research went into the compilation of his novel. As with all biopics, especially those based on what many believe to be heavily embellished, these types of projects make one wonder which parts are accurate and which items have been modified for purposes of entertainment.

Irving’s inability to accept the consequences for his fake concoctions proves to be a disheartening and unwavering trait throughout the film. As stated in the epilogue of the film, Irving is still, to this day, trying to get his autobiography of Howard Hughes published. Even as he struggles to accomplish that monumental feat, he has reached a level of fame not only for his audacious media scam but also for this feature film based on those events. Despite what this production might suggest, in reality, he’s not such a tragic, pitiable person after all.

– Mike Massie