Published: April 04, 2007 04:14 pm         

Gere pulls fantastic fast one in Hughes fraud-tale ‘The Hoax’

Film review

LOS ANGELES — Turns out Richard Gere is one of the biggest frauds in Hollywood.

Gere is ideally cast in “The Hoax,” building on the smug wiliness of his prancing defense attorney in “Chicago” to play a different sort of song-and-dance man, phony Howard Hughes biographer Clifford Irving.

In 1971, Irving hoodwinked the publishing world and captivated America with claims that he had broken into Hughes’ inner sanctum to become a confidante and conduit of the billionaire recluse’s autobiography.

It turned out to be one of the whoppers of the century, and Gere gives possibly the finest performance of his career, bringing the necessary charm, cunning and audacity to the man who could not only con so many people into accepting his fantastic tale, but also maintain a growing web of lies to keep the story in play.

True to their subject, director Lasse Hallstrom and screenwriter William Wheeler adapt Irving’s memoir of the scam with considerable creative license, fictionalizing many aspects to heighten the drama.

They turn the tale into something of a road-trip buddy movie as Irving travels the United States with friend and collaborator Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina, also perfectly cast as a trusting puppy dog of a man).

McGraw-Hill had previously put out Irving’s book “Fake!”, an account of art forger Elmyr de Hory. To underline Irving’s desperation, the filmmakers craft a scene in which McGraw-Hill passes on his novel manuscript — after the author has already begun spending the money he hoped to get for it.

Irving’s a man in need of a literary hit to sustain both his lifestyle and his ego. With Hughes constantly in the news, Irving decides to go for broke and tell his editor at McGraw-Hill (Hope Davis) that he has gained access to the rich hermit, who has agreed to tell-all interviews for an autobiography.

Doubt runs wild among McGraw-Hill executives, including the top honcho (Stanley Tucci). Yet Irving juggles, obfuscates and misdirects with the skill of a brilliant magician, convinced he can continue the deception and that Hughes will never emerge to denounce the fraud.

Along with Suskind, Irving enlists his wife (Marcia Gay Harden), making her a key player in carrying out the hoax even as he maintains a domestic deception over an affair with a European mistress (Julie Delpy).

Gere infuses Irving with a mastery of subterfuge and showmanship that makes “The Hoax” a crowd-pleasing comic caper, yet he also injects a wonderfully elusive sense of a man coming to believe his own bull.

Ominous fantasy sequences puff up Irving’s feelings of self-importance as much as the media attention over his literary coup does. Irving becomes convinced he truly has entered Hughes’ inner circle and that in some backdoor fashion, he and Hughes have grown into confederates.

In Gere’s most chilling moments, his Irving takes on the Hughes persona to record the interviews he and Suskind will use as the basis for the book. Gere is so convincing that it’s almost like the ghost of the billionaire speaking, filtered through an actor playing a charlatan playing at being Howard Hughes.

The Irving hoax dwarfs any of the recent wave of questionable memoirs and other frauds that have struck the publishing world. The film is a timely reminder that even the savviest and most skeptical audience can get snookered by the natural desire for a great story.

“The Hoax,” a Miramax Films release, is rated R for language. Running time: 116 minutes. Three stars out of four.

———

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.