Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

  • 2018
  • R
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
58K
YOUR RATING
Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
When bestselling celebrity biographer Lee Israel is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend, Jack.
Play trailer2:35
16 Videos
99+ Photos
DocudramaPeriod DramaTrue CrimeBiographyComedyCrimeDrama

When Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.When Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.When Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.

  • Director
    • Marielle Heller
  • Writers
    • Nicole Holofcener
    • Jeff Whitty
  • Stars
    • Melissa McCarthy
    • Richard E. Grant
    • Dolly Wells
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    58K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Marielle Heller
    • Writers
      • Nicole Holofcener
      • Jeff Whitty
    • Stars
      • Melissa McCarthy
      • Richard E. Grant
      • Dolly Wells
    • 270User reviews
    • 234Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 54 wins & 102 nominations total

    Videos16

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:35
    Official Trailer
    Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Trailer 2:38
    Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Trailer 2:38
    Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Oscar Buzz for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'
    Clip 3:46
    Oscar Buzz for 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'
    5 Favorites From 2019 Oscars
    Clip 2:45
    5 Favorites From 2019 Oscars
    Can You Ever Forgive Me: You're Going To Pay Me Five Thousand Dollars
    Clip 1:04
    Can You Ever Forgive Me: You're Going To Pay Me Five Thousand Dollars
    Can You Ever Forgive Me: Buy You A Drink
    Clip 1:02
    Can You Ever Forgive Me: Buy You A Drink

    Photos232

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 226
    View Poster

    Top cast63

    Edit
    Melissa McCarthy
    Melissa McCarthy
    • Lee Israel
    Richard E. Grant
    Richard E. Grant
    • Jack Hock
    Dolly Wells
    Dolly Wells
    • Anna
    Ben Falcone
    Ben Falcone
    • Alan Schmidt
    Gregory Korostishevsky
    • Andre
    Jane Curtin
    Jane Curtin
    • Marjorie
    Stephen Spinella
    Stephen Spinella
    • Paul
    Christian Navarro
    Christian Navarro
    • Kurt
    Pun Bandhu
    Pun Bandhu
    • Agent Doyle
    Erik LaRay Harvey
    Erik LaRay Harvey
    • Agent Solanas
    Brandon Scott Jones
    Brandon Scott Jones
    • Glen
    Shae D'lyn
    Shae D'lyn
    • Nell
    Rosal Colon
    Rosal Colon
    • Rachel
    • (as Rosal Colón)
    Anna Deavere Smith
    Anna Deavere Smith
    • Elaine
    Marc Evan Jackson
    Marc Evan Jackson
    • Lloyd
    Marcella Lowery
    Marcella Lowery
    • Guest at Party
    Roberta Wallach
    Roberta Wallach
    • Tom Clancy Groupie
    Tina Benko
    Tina Benko
    • Karen
    • Director
      • Marielle Heller
    • Writers
      • Nicole Holofcener
      • Jeff Whitty
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    If Beale Street Could Talk
    7.1
    If Beale Street Could Talk
    Enough Said
    7.0
    Enough Said
    The Starling
    6.4
    The Starling
    The Wife
    7.2
    The Wife
    What the Constitution Means to Me
    7.4
    What the Constitution Means to Me
    Tammy
    4.9
    Tammy
    Superintelligence
    5.5
    Superintelligence
    The Heat
    6.6
    The Heat
    Life of the Party
    5.6
    Life of the Party
    The Kitchen
    5.6
    The Kitchen
    Battle of the Sexes
    6.7
    Battle of the Sexes
    The Boss
    5.4
    The Boss

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A pile of Lee Israel books ("Beyond the Magic", an unauthorized biography of Estée Lauder) are shown on sale at a bookstore for 75% off. Lauder was publishing her own memoirs and initially tried to pay Israel *not* to write her book, but she refused and rushed her book to publication. The autobiography was released in October 1985 and Israel's biography one month later. The book buying public chose to buy the Lauder autobiography rather than the Israel biography. Lee Israel later said she regretted not taking the money when it was first offered.
    • Goofs
      A couple of times we see the characters sitting in a bar, while a snowstorm is obviously occurring outside, but when they walk outside, there isn't any snow on the ground at all.
    • Quotes

      Marjorie: You can be an asshole if you're famous. You can't be unknown and be such a bitch, Lee.

    • Crazy credits
      As the closing credits start, they move to the left side of the screen and information about the protagonists appears on the right.
    • Alternate versions
      Ahead of the film's release in Australia, the distributor chose to pre-cut the film in order to obtain an M classification. These changes removed detail of hard drug misuse (cocaine snorting) through re-framing, and also removed the film's sole use of very strong language by re-dubbing the term with a milder phrase. The uncut international version was later approved for a DVD/Video release with an uncut MA15+ classification.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Eddie Redmayne/Jude Law/Melissa McCarthy/Emma Stone/Rick Astley (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      I Thought Of You Last Night
      Written by Ralph Freed

      Performed by Jeri Southern

      Courtesy of Geffen Records

      Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

    User reviews270

    Featured review
    9/10

    Terrific acting in a very good movie

    Greetings from Lithuania.

    "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" (2018) is a wonderfully acted, written and directed movie. I loved performances by two leads: Melissa McCarthy & Richard E. Grant - they were both outstanding, well deserving Oscar nominations they got. This movie was also very well paced - at running time 1 h 42 min It never dragged and I was involved into this story of which I knew nothing from beginning till end.

    Overall, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" was sometimes funny, very involving, sad and yet a bit uplifting story very well told. This is a very good movie overall.
    • RM851222
    • Nov 21, 2020
    • Permalink

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ19

    • How long is Can You Ever Forgive Me??Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 2, 2018 (South Africa)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Twitter
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Kẻ Giả Mạo
    • Filming locations
      • Argosy Bookshop, East 59th Street, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Fox Searchlight Pictures
      • Archer Gray
      • Bob Industries
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $10,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $8,803,865
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $161,510
      • Oct 21, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $12,442,161
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) officially released in India in Hindi?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.