Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: October 19, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
87
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 53 Critic Reviews
Positive:
52
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 30, 2019
The law about movie characters needing to be sympathetic is defied in this horribly fascinating true-crime black comedy. Read full review
100
CineVueTom DugginsJan 29, 2019
Director Marielle Heller takes viewers on a hilarious tour of New York’s memorabilia dealers, blending a mixture of heist comedy with a sensitive character study of Israel herself: “bitter as a root”, to use her own expression, but not without a certain irascible charm. Read full review
100
SlateDana StevensOct 25, 2018
One of the things I loved about Can You Ever Forgive Me?—aside from the radiantly perfect casting of McCarthy and Grant, a Withnail and I–esque pair of drinking buddies, except this time they’re both asocial, hilarious Withnails—was Heller’s quiet confidence in establishing the milieu where all this typing and lying took place. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 25, 2018
Wisely, Heller doesn’t inflate the tone or impart an overt message. But by the end, Can You Ever Forgive Me? has truly brought you into this woman’s life, head-space, longings and tastes, and I found the whole of it quite moving. Read full review
100
Original-CinKim HughesOct 25, 2018
McCarthy’s talent is towering and yet so few roles (excluding SNL appearances which feature dozens) really leverage her versatility. Can You Ever Forgive Me? gives platform to it all — funny but nihilistic, bleak, sardonic, knowing — with McCarthy disappearing and something else rising in her place. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 25, 2018
At times Can You Ever Forgive Me? is actually quite funny and of course McCarthy is great in those scenes — but she’s equally effective in the darkest, most dramatic moments. It’s one of the finest performances of the year. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 24, 2018
A breakthrough for McCarthy and a highlight of the movie year. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshOct 19, 2018
McCarthy is exceptional as the irascible Lee, and her skill in a dramatic role should be no surprise. Her performance is detailed, nuanced and subtly affecting, while Grant brings the relief as the tragicomic Jack, who showboats in circles around McCarthy, who's in the straight man role for a change. Read full review
100
The New YorkerRichard BrodyOct 19, 2018
It is a fiercely composed, historically informed, and richly textured film, as insightful regarding the particularities of the protagonist as it is on the artistic life — and on the life of its times. Read full review
100
ObserverRex ReedOct 19, 2018
The miracle is Melissa McCarthy, whose tortured portrait of disgraced celebrity author and convicted forger Lee Israel is the consummate performance of her career and the crowning achievement of her life. I have seen Can You Ever Forgive Me? twice, rubbing my eyes with astonishment and discovering something new and wonderful each time. This is my favorite film of 2018. Read full review
100
Film ThreatMalik AdanOct 19, 2018
At every turn, Marielle Heller provides nuanced, intimate framing and dialogue that is most interested in the little dramas that define who we are while never losing sight of its overarching narrative. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 16, 2018
Partly because the movie is so splendidly and completely absorbed in its characters and their milieu, it communicates much more than a quirky appreciation for old books and odd readers. Read full review
95
Film Journal InternationalSimi HorwitzOct 18, 2018
McCarthy has found the right creative partner in Heller, who treads unchartered territory with a character like Israel: unfashionable, unfamiliar and unappealing to most viewers. Read full review
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 26, 2018
Given the slam-bang slapstick featured in so many of her movies, I have to admit the subtlety and fullness of [McCarthy's] performance in this film did hit me as a shock to the system. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeOct 17, 2018
Maintaining an audience’s sympathy for a character through their most fumbling, frustrating lows requires compassion and clarity of purpose, both of which McCarthy amply demonstrates here. It’s a career-best performance, the kind of nuanced turn we all suspected she could deliver, if only someone would give her a chance to do it. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnSep 1, 2018
McCarthy elevates the material at every opportunity, and whenever the camera lingers on her expressions, she’s a study in contradictions — tough and tender all at once, unsure which side of that spectrum to unleash. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranOct 16, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me? demands not our love for this supremely difficult person but rather our respect for her defiance of an unsympathetic world. With such an impeccable presentation of such an intransigent personality, it is hard to deny her that. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 2, 2018
It’s the human side of the character that makes this McCarthy’s best performance to date, revealing haunting insights into friendship, loneliness, and creative insecurity. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisOct 31, 2018
Grant punctuates almost every piece of Hock’s dialogue with an absurd gesture or facial expression – the theatricality of his portrayal of this not-so-street-smart bullshit artist is fascinating. Read full review
88
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonNov 6, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me? charts the offbeat alliance and ultimately the friendship that develops between the Hock and Israel, a bond that exists somewhere between proximity and affinity. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldOct 31, 2018
The movie lets Israel have the last laugh, deliciously so. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 31, 2018
In addition to its other strengths — serving as a reminder of the kind of small, satisfying movie they don’t make anymore, showcasing the depths of Melissa McCarthy’s talents — Can You Ever Forgive Me? celebrates a hardy but endangered species: the Nasty New Yorker. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed spending so much time with someone so unpleasant. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittOct 19, 2018
Splendidly directed by Marielle Heller, Can You Ever Forgive Me? feels worn and lived in – in a good way – with a world of musty vintage tones and bar-room desperation given emotional life through McCarthy and a super supporting turn from Richard E. Grant. Read full review
88
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiOct 18, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me?, based on Israel’s 2008 tell-all memoir, has a lot of laughs and a delicious setup, but it hits hardest as a drama about human desperation and survival. Read full review
88
The Associated PressJake CoyleOct 18, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me? sings best — or rather, grumbles spectacularly — when McCarthy and Grant are together. They are kindred misfits and malcontents happy for each other’s company. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloSep 10, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me? comes from a place of understanding and love that few other biopics truly dive into, and it makes this difficult character a joy to meet. Read full review
85
Vanity FairRichard LawsonOct 20, 2018
It doesn’t wring its hands with grief and beatify its rumpled subjects. Instead, it arrives at a place of humble, true understanding. Which means more than mere forgiveness ever could. Read full review
85
The AtlanticDavid SimsOct 19, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me? may be a muted story, but it is a profoundly memorable one. Read full review
85
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeOct 18, 2018
The act of recreating the voice of others, albeit illegally, ultimately empowered Israel to write the well-received memoir on which this film was based. And the act of playing Lee Israel will, with any luck, empower more filmmakers to think of Melissa McCarthy as an actress whose gifts range beyond broad comedy. Read full review
83
ConsequenceAllison ShoemakerOct 20, 2018
Its moments of creativity and daring, while effective and elevating, never even approach the audacity of the subject on which they center, and it’s easy to wish that Heller had pressed down a bit more firmly on the gas. But the overall effect is so simply pleasing, the performances so honest and engaging, and the story, frankly, so worthy of an earnest what the fuck? that it’s hard to work up the steam for any kind of complaint. It all works, and works well. Read full review
83
The Film StageJared MobarakSep 16, 2018
McCarthy and Grant’s rapport in these roles cannot be beat. Their caustic wit is mutual so each biting takedown is either appreciated or met by another in return. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattSep 12, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me?’s premise is so low-key outrageous, it would almost have to be true. And it is: a shaggy, endearingly dour portrait of the kind of true-life eccentric New York hardly seems to make anymore. Read full review
83
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodSep 2, 2018
Israel, as noted by her own writing, had a caustic wit that works with McCarthy’s comedic talents. She also brings a depth of emotion to Israel that comes to a head in a wonderfully composed scene with Grant at the end of the film. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeFeb 4, 2019
Tonally, Can You Ever Forgive Me? cuts an elegant path between humour and pathos. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerJan 28, 2019
A moving hymn to outsiders, this thrives on two criminally good performances from Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant. It also confirms Marielle Heller as one of the brightest directorial talents around. Read full review
80
Total FilmKate StablesJan 24, 2019
The powerful, vanity-free performances are the real thing in this bittersweet biopic. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicSamantha IncorvaiaOct 25, 2018
Director Marielle Heller delivers a solid movie with fantastic acting, creativity and engagement. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 24, 2018
Two struggling souls come together to pull off a hoax on a world that's rejected them, in this powerhouse showcase for Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaOct 19, 2018
What is on paper a small-time heist film in the vein of the Coen Brothers or "Breaking Bad" is ultimately a cover for a more observant and relatable portrait of loneliness. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 18, 2018
The film is not only not unpleasant but a genuine, authentic and honest-to-goodness pleasure. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 17, 2018
Melissa McCarthy is a lock for a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Can You Ever Forgive Me? Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 10, 2018
Sometimes the shagginess of the film can make it feel a bit slight and at times it does work better as a concentrated character study, but it’s such a joy to spend this time with McCarthy, drunkenly scheming and grumbling, that it’s hard to complain. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 9, 2018
Director Marielle Heller is less interested in the machinations of Israel’s scheme as she is the psychology behind it, giving us a touchingly understated portrait of self-loathing and loneliness. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberSep 2, 2018
McCarthy’s performance, which is paired with an equally rewarding turn by British actor Richard E. Grant, anchors this bizarre, compelling true story. Read full review
79
IGNWitney SeiboldOct 17, 2018
Melissa McCarthy gives one of her best performances in a surprisingly relatable story about a criminal misanthrope with a heart beating deep inside her. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 5, 2018
It’s the best performance of McCarthy’s career, topping the one she gave in "St. Vincent." Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 30, 2018
Grant is the cinema’s favorite gay British best friend, and he makes a wonderfully louche lush as Jack Hock, Israel’s only friend. But being a homeless, aged coke-dealing Lothario doesn’t bode well for how dependable he’s going to be when the going gets tough. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayOct 25, 2018
You’ve never seen Melissa McCarthy like this. And she’s not even the best thing about her new movie. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Simon HouptOct 25, 2018
Coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival last month, critics were touting McCarthy as an Oscar nominee. Her work is nuanced and insightful, though it may not be showy enough for Academy voters. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenOct 24, 2018
Directed by Marielle Heller, Can You Ever Forgive Me? has its funny moments—Richard E. Grant proves to be a sublime comic partner as Jack Hock, a fellow alcoholic who gets roped into Lee’s scheme—but mostly the movie is immensely sad, the story of a woman who deep down desires companionship but just isn’t wired to accept it. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklySerena DonadoniOct 18, 2018
No one does dissolute hubris with as much charm as Grant, and his ebullience is the perfect foil to the misanthropic McCarthy. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJake ColeSep 12, 2018
Richard E. Grant is captivating on his own, but his rapport with Melissa McCarthy is so effortless that their characters’ conversations offer deeper pleasures than the main plot of the film. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottOct 31, 2018
A mess of a gay best friend, played brilliantly by Richard E. Grant in what is easily one of the year’s most enjoyable supporting performances. He steals every scene he’s in, injecting the film with a needed dose of lovability that carries it through its narrative lulls. Read full review
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