"The Hoax" **** (out of four): The most ironic part of Lasse Hallström's perfectly crafted tale - based on the true story of a man who nearly published an entirely fictitious autobiography of Howard Hughes - is how completely believable it all is.
A story about a fake memoir set in an age of war protests, political corruption, "The Hoax" - director Lasse Hallström’s wonderfully dark adaptation of the true story of Clifford Irving - couldn't be more relevant. In 1971, Cliff (Richard Gere), a struggling writer with a Swedish-German artist wife (Marcia Gay Harden) and mounds of debt, needs to find a publisher. Desperate for attention from his agent, Cliff guarantees a novel that will be “the story of the century”. With the help of friend and fellow struggling writer Dick Susskind (Alfred Molina), Cliff concocts a plan to write the only authorized biography of Howard Hughes. The only problem: the “authorized” part.
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I HIGHLY recommend Irving's book, The Hoax, on which this movie is based. An excellent read.