REEL CRITIC:Gere’s clever portrayal is no ‘Hoax’

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and the new film “The Hoax” chronicles such an occurrence. “The Hoax” relates how a relatively unknown author bilked a major New York publishing house out of a $1-million advance for a biography about a man not seen publicly for several years, that man being Howard Hughes.

In 1970, Clifford Irving, played by Richard Gere, was a struggling debt-ridden author who hit upon the idea of producing a fraudulent autobiography of the reclusive Hughes. Irving claimed to have established a friendship of sorts with Hughes after the billionaire read his biography of Elmyr de Hory, the infamous art forger. According to Irving, the 65-year-old Hughes wanted to set the record straight regarding his life before it was too late. Since Hughes had been seen by only a handful of secretive associates since 1958, Irving doubted he would venture into the public eye to discredit the book.

Irving enlisted the assistance of fellow author and old friend Richard Susskind (Alfred Molina) to conduct research. Together they were able to find examples of Hughes’ writing and uncovered correspondence and tapes that demonstrated his vocabulary and speech patterns. Using these, Irving was able to forge letters and tapes supposedly from Hughes attesting to their association and authorizing Irving to write the billionaire’s autobiography.

Irving was so convincing he was able to extract the hefty advance from the publishing house of McGraw-Hill. Irving had the check made out to “H. R. Hughes” so his wife, Edith (Marcia Gay Harden), could deposit it in a Swiss bank account posing as Helga R. Hughes using a forged passport prepared by her husband.

During the preparation of the book, Irving had to weave an increasingly tangled web of deceit to perpetuate the hoax. McGraw-Hill and its partner, Life magazine, sought continual reassurance from Irving as one Hughes associate after another cast doubt on the venture. Eventually Irving suspected he was being manipulated by Hughes to expose illegal campaign contributions he had made to Richard Nixon. Irving assumed Hughes was attempting to coerce the Nixon administration to cease prosecuting a Supreme Court case against an airline merger.

“The Hoax” really shows the two main ingredients for any con. Namely, there has to be an offer too good to be true and someone with sufficient greed to accept it. Irving was only able to maintain the hoax as long as his agent and publisher wanted the story to be true. An authorized biography of Hughes had the potential to be one of the best-selling books of all time and that knowledge caused McGraw-Hill to jump at the opportunity and toss aside the usual caution.

Gere plays Irving with an earnestness that just begs to be liked and trusted. On the surface there was nothing to indicate Irving was capable of such deceit. But, as Gere’s portrayal cleverly shows, the intoxication of the spotlight is just too much. Irving eventually betrays every- thing and everyone important to him. When the end comes, Irving has been expecting it so long it is almost anticlimactic.

“The Hoax” is first-rate adult entertainment with excellent performances throughout. Molina is a bundle of conflicted emotions as he simultaneously embraces and is repulsed by his and Irving’s actions. Marcia Gay Harden gives an understated performance as the emotionally wounded and now jaded Edith, a willing accomplice just trying to extract some payoff from a failed marriage.

Other standout performances include Stanley Tucci as publisher Shelton Fisher, Hope Davis as Irving’s agent Andrea Tate, Eli Wallach as the seemingly senile Hughes associate Noah Dietrich, and Julie Delpy as Irving’s socialite mistress Nina. “The Hoax” is based on Clifford Irving’s own account of the swindle and is directed by Lasse Hallström (“The Cider House Rules,” and “Chocolat”).

“The Hoax” is a well-reviewed film that is struggling to find an audience. It is certainly worthy of your attention. As the film’s tagline says, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” In the case of Clifford Irving, he certainly lived up to this credo.