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Hoax (The)
R1 - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (30th October 2007). |
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The Film
 Clifford Irving's story is certainly an interesting one, and I can see the appeal to adapt it for the screen. In the 1970's Irving would gain notoriety as the man who would compile and write Howard Hughes' autobiography with the help of his colleague Richard Suskind. His publishing company paid him an enormous amount of money including an advance for the publishing rights. At this point in his life Hughes was a recluse, living in the Bahamas he hadn't spoken to the press or made himself seen in years. His story was a virtual goldmine with exploits in the film industry and aviation the billionaire's life was not an ordinary one and lent itself to public interest. The book would be set up as McGraw-Hill's tent pole release of the year; the only problem is the book was a hoax. Irving and Suskind never met Hughes, the interviews were faked, the letters were forged and as a result Irving spent some time in jail for fraud and he would eventually write about this hoax in his own book entitled "The Hoax" of which this film is based on. Director Lasse Hallström is known to be 'safe', he doesn't really take too many filmmaking risks and you can be sure he'll deliver a picture that can appeal to almost everyone. "The Hoax" in a way is yet another 'safe' picture from Hallström as he pieces together the events in a rudimentary time-line from the initial conception of the book to the discovery that it was all a lie. The film covers the period in which Irving (Richard Gere) and Suskind (Alfred Molina) compile their research, sneak out evidence, fake interviews and forge letters and try to keep up their rouse in an effort to get more money out of their publisher. The film also sees the effect of the hoax on Irving's life as his marriage begins to suffer and he starts to go a little crazy himself, the more and more like Hughes he becomes. The film's structure doesn't leave much to surprise the viewer and it follows the events fairly accurately with some cinematic license taken out of course. The first two acts are an enjoyable ride as Irving and Suskind try their best to continue their fraudulent behavior and compile their research, but the film's third act falters and takes a turn similar to that of John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind" (2001) where Irving begins to start hallucinating about abductions and actually meeting Hughes, he essentially goes a little crazy and paranoid, which comes out of left field without a solid build-up to it. The film does feature some fine performances by both Gere and Molina, their chemistry is real and their interactions make up some of the most enjoyable moments of the film. Gere especially has crafted a brilliant turn as Irving and stands among the best performances of his career. Additional supporting cast do their job without taking too much away from these two leads, even Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden doesn't really impress as the emotionally scarred wife of Irving, she cries a bit and does her best impression of a cheated upon wife and then gets shuffled into the corner to make light of the more important hoax aspect of the story. The performances from the leads and the nature of the story aside this film isn't likley going to be a memorable classic in the years to come, however it is an entertaining look at a hoax that fooled many people and it's sad that this film didn't get enough attention during its theatrical release and hopefully it will find an audience on DVD.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer is good but lacks in a few areas. The overall image is sharp with some softness present in a few shots. The colors are well saturated and appear vividly; however I felt that the black levels were a bit flat. The film also featured some grain and some minor compression artefacts; I also noticed one instance of edge-enhancement. Aside from this the print is clean and featured no dirt or specks of any kind. It's an average effort from Buena Vista and could have been much better.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in English Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, for the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English soundtrack. The film is quite dialogue rich and not very active, so the soundtrack is primarily focused at the front and it's clear and distortion free. Some ambient effects are mixed adding depth and the score comes across with some minor impact but I felt the track was lacking in overall range. It's about what I expected and as a track it serves the film fine without going that extra mile. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
The first feature-length audio commentary is by the film's director Lasse Hallström and screenwriter William Wheeler. In this track these two comment on their involvement in the project and what attracted them to it. They also talk about the research they did on the events portrayed in the picture as well as on the era and the Hughes archival footage. Wheeler doesn't really go into the mechanics of scriptwriting but does talk about the story and the ways in which it was presented, he's also open to the way it was shot by the director which included some improvisational scenes. Hallström focuses on the real story that inspired this film and occasionally telling the viewer what he liked about the film and adding to whatever Wheeler comments on as they each take turns asking the other questions in this otherwise boring track. The second audio commentary is by producers Leslie Holleran and Joshua D. Maurer, this feature-length track is much more screen specific than the previous as the two go into detail about the option to make the film which was purchased some 13 years ago, and we are taken through each scene as they share production background as well as provide background on the real people and the events that take place in the film. They also comment on working with the cast, story points, creating credible motivation for the perpetration of the hoax and on shooting various scenes. Between the two commentaries on this disc this one is by far the best one and is actually worth listening to without being bored senseless. Next up is "Stranger than Fiction", a featurette that runs for 9 minutes 3 seconds and is a typical EPK clip that covers the basics such as the real events that the film is based on, a look a the character and the enigma that was Howard Hughes and finally we get enough time left to hear about how wonderful everyone is from the cast to the director. There's hardly anything here about making the film and it's not worth repeated viewing unless you really like fluff pieces. Also included is "Mike Wallace Reflects on a Con" featurette that runs for 4 minutes 33 seconds in this short clip veteran newsman Wallace remembers the persuasiveness of Irving and on how he was totally convincing in his lie. He remembers the interview which we see highlights from but it's a shame that the entire interview was not included. I felt there was a missed opportunity on the part of Buena Vista as that would have made for an interesting addition but instead we get this brief clip of Wallace talking about it and the man. Following that are 6 deleted scenes with optional commentary by the film's director Lasse Hallström and screenwriter William Wheeler. They comment on the scenes and on why they were omitted, these scenes can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option and include: - "Dick is Indecisive" runs for 1 minute 58 seconds, Dick is unsure whether he wants to take part in the hoax. - "Plotting the Story" runs for 2 minutes 4 seconds, Dick and Cliff plot out the structure of the book. - "Nina in the Park" runs for 2 minutes 31 seconds, Cliff meets Nina and tells her that his wife found the note she wrote. - "Friendship is Complicated" runs for 3 minutes 22 seconds, Cliff ignores Dick as their friendship appears to be at a crossroads. - "Just a Typist" runs for 1 minute 32 seconds, Cliff admits he wouldn't do anything that he didn't think was best for Dick. - "The Phone Call" runs for 1 minute 47 seconds, Cliff receives a mysterious phone call about some information he recently got. Also featured is a single extended scene entitled "Business as Pleasure" which runs for 6 minutes 27 seconds and is the dinner scene with Dick, Cliff and the McGraw Hill executives as the two share their experiences on having contact with Hughes. Rounding out the supplements are some bonus trailers for: - "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" which runs for 1 minute 55 seconds. - "No Country For Old Men" which runs for 2 minutes 31 seconds. - "Eagle Vs. Shark" which runs for 2 minutes 19 seconds. - "The Invisible" which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "Becoming Jane" which runs for 2 minutes 27 seconds. - "Golden Door" which runs for 1 minute 40 seconds.
Overall
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