你能原谅我吗？

A pet project for Nicole Holofcener for years (who was set to direct it with Julianne Moore and Chris O’Dowd heading the cast), the final fruition of a biopic about New York biographer-turned-literature-forger Lee Israel (1939-2014) shifts its director chair to her fellow female director Marielle Heller, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? becomes the follow-up of her Sundance darling debut feature THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL (2015), with Holofcener and Jeff Whitty taking the writing credits, Melissa McCarthy starring as Israel and Richard E. Grant as her partner-in-crime Jack Hock (all received their Oscar nominations except Heller).

Scarcely there is anything exciting in Israel’s criminal peccadillo (apart from a tense letter-purloining episode inside the library of Yale University), who forges letters written by deceased celebrities (from Fanny Brice, Noël Coward to Dolly Parker, and the key is to fake their signatures, that’s when an Xerox machine comes quite handy if you have a pair of deft, steady hands), often inputting her own wits into the contents to raise the appeal, then sells them to antique bookshop owners to earn fast cash, yet, it is a fiendishly ingenious idea, because as long as these memorabilia can attract potential collectors, most of these buyers don’t give a toss about its authenticity, but there is also a catch, sometimes, it is difficult to fool a connoisseur who pays handsomely for their collection, also, you cannot sell too many items without rousing suspicion (that “avuncular” slip-up is really embarrassing).

From the start, in the early 1990s, 51-year-old Lee is dead strapped, fired from her wage labor, once a New York best seller, her upcoming biography about Fanny Brice cannot secure an advance, living alone in her cluttered apartment with a long-in-the-tooth cat, her misery should arouse sympathy but any commiseration dissipates vanishingly whenever she talks. A curmudgeon who unabashedly professes that she likes cats far more than her own kind (and later duly proves that with her action), and apparently has no family or friends, Lee belongs to that rarified group of movie protagonists who is not equipped with any modicum of charisma, but that doesn’t make her less human, conversely, among others, McCarthy’s vastly lived-in performance makes every aspect of her humanity coruscate and bubbling with intensity and veracity, we might not want to meet a character like her, but nonetheless, she is there, indomitably represents the unglamorous, unsympathetic side of ordinary beings which narrative cinema often intends to overlook.

The friendship between Lee and Jack, gels naturally from their common propensity of libations. But sex is definitely off the table because of their similar queer orientations, Jack, a small-time drug dealer who seems to sleep rough without a permanent residence, much balances off Lee’s cynical nature with his unapologetic flamboyance, and Grant has a whale of a time in inhabiting his idiotic, happy-go-lucky persona to the hilt, even in the final reveal of his impending fate, Jack is Jack, nothing sentimental or phony is doctored into their tenuous, but unalloyed bond chiefly borne out of a mutual necessity, once that phrase passes, Holofcener and Whitty script makes sure nothing wishy-washy remains.

Many a supporting female performance scintillates with their own strength, Dolly Wells as Anna, one of the bookshop owners, is extremely eloquent in conveying the trickiest part to elicit a tangible romantic feeling towards a dumpy Lee because she peers through her prickly carapace and intuits something tender underneath, but their romance is better not ignited (which Lee snuffs it roundly), as not everyone in real life is prone to act against one’s best judgement. Jane Curtin simply kills it as Lee’s pragmatic agent Marjorie, who does not mince words to pinpoint Lee’s problems with sharp asperity, and Anna Deavere Smith, appears only in one scene as Lee’s ex-lover Elaine, totally shatters our expectation of a comforting figure when Lee seeks out her help, instead, she rams home her mixed feeling of bitterness, weariness and insouciance that persuasively speaks volumes of why their relationship has fallen through.

Carving out an engrossing narrative and teasing out compelling performances out of an assortment of un-cinematic elements, Heller’s CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? not just ushers in a new era of female filmmakers strenuously and felicitously tackling thorny issues like their male counterparts, but also brings a new form of character study to the mainstream audience, if we don’t want other people’s sympathy in real life, likewise, cinema needn’t desperately bank on compassion-inducing characters to make for a rewarding viewing experience, as this film beautifully attests, for what it is worth, humanity is a many-faceted creature.

referential entries: Björn Runge’s THE WIFE (2017, 7.0); Hirokazu Koreeda’s SHOPLIFTERS (2018, 8.4/10).

李是个郁郁不得志的作家，50多岁，独居，不善社交，只有一只猫相依为伴，没钱没地位，因为特立独行、出言不逊被出版社炒了鱿鱼。因为收入微薄，房租一拖再拖，从李的家就能看出些她的心境，先不说她为何这么多年还独居一人，但是满屋的杂物和苍蝇也能看出她的孤独，和对生活颓废的态度。无奈之下只好卖掉自己的书和收藏品，却意外的发现伪造名人信件可以卖到不错的价钱，于是她通过对名人文笔和叙事方式的模仿，开始造假。李在制作名人信件时，信件内容都是用打印机打上去的，落款加上名人的签名，可是奇怪的是，每个购买者在买的时候并没有怀疑这封信的真假，也不关注信件的内容，重点关注的只有最后那一个名人签名，这是李能够成功的主要原因。可是问题来了，那些收藏家收藏名人信件真的是为了对文学的追求吗，还是对名人的崇拜，恐怕只是为了炫耀或是专卖升值罢了。当收购书信的人捧着李写的信件爱不释手，并给出了不错的价钱时，给了李莫大的信心和安慰，自己的作品又何尝不能受到这样的优待。其实李对生活要求的不多，有地方住，有猫陪伴，有酒喝就足够了，可是即便是这样基本的要求也需要她拼尽全力才能够得到。李的性格注定不会有很多朋友，事实上她只有猫，可能不养猫的人或是没有独居的人不会理解猫给李带来的心理慰藉，在别人眼里猫是宠物，在她的眼中，猫就是她所有温暖的来源了，因此，在猫死的时候，李跪在地上崩溃大哭，残酷的生活都没有让她如此难过过。可是到后来她遇到了一个和她有相似处境的男闺蜜，生活一地鸡毛，两个人经常一起喝酒，相互抱怨，只有孤独的人才知道这个世界上有个能相互倾诉的人有多重要。最后李的事情开始败露，不仅要受到法律上的制裁，而且还面临别人的敲诈，男闺蜜为求自保把所有的责任都推到了她的身上，生活又一次跌入谷底。李的所作所为虽然触犯了法律，也可以看出这次造假事件产生的影响，因为李作假的信件已经被一些作者引用到了自己的书里，值得人们深思，难道别人说的真就是真的吗？结尾处，当男闺蜜病入膏肓，拖着病体和李见面时，要求李在回忆录里把自己写成29岁，至少没有那么讨厌。影片最后告诉我们李一共模仿了400多封名人信件，在她的一生中，从未有过像这段时间一样过得充实、快乐，违反法律是真，可是却能够看到一个孤独的人被别人认可时的喜悦。

对不起，《你能原谅我吗？》 Can You Ever Forgive Me?

改编于李·伊斯雷尔Lee Israel的同名自传小说。

在美国真要当个作家不是件容易事。李（梅丽莎·麦卡西 Melissa McCarthy饰）就是这样一个专写文人传记的作家。尽管她的著作甚至在“纽约时报”畅销书列上过榜。可现在她已经过气了，也没有了工作，不单一无所有，还欠几个月的房租，自己宝贝的猫病都没钱治，日子一天比一天难过。

她往往醉醺醺的，再加上个烂脾气到处得罪人，把自己的生路都断了，因此51岁的她只能做得就是不时要耍点无赖，或者乘机小偷小摸。总的来说，日子过得结结巴巴或者更糟。最后她不得不把自己珍藏的赫本的亲笔信卖掉了。又过了两天，她在图书馆的书里看到夹着一封作家范妮·布莱斯的信。她把信又卖了个好价钱。当然这不是个长远过日子的办法。就这样，她开始了山寨名人信件的绝招。然后再出售给一个个旧书店。虽然没有致富，但也做到了衣食无忧。

在酒吧里，她还结识了个流浪汉杰克（理查德·E·格兰特 Richard E. Grant饰）。也是个不靠谱的家伙，不单酗酒，还吸毒，有时候还做点贩毒的生意。两个人臭味相投，因此谈的都挺投机的，成了好朋友。当李发现了自己不单被警察钉上了，而且上了书店老板的黑名单后，她安排了杰克去推销这些假信。

当然最后他们两人都被抓起来了。为了轻判她接受认罪。判决是监外执行五年。

她把这段经历写成了这本书。她于2014年74岁去世。

李·伊斯雷本人

虽然有“窃书不能算偷”的说法，但李还是被抓了。不过总的说起来，她还是个雅贼。为了山寨这些信件，她还买了好几个旧打字机，模仿作家的签字，再凭自己对作家的知识而对信件添油加醋。判刑后，她还看到自己的假信在市面高价出售。所以她对自己一手还很骄傲。在法庭认罪时，她觉得这是她一生最得意的一段时间。

从李的经历来看，在美国当作家不容易。美国没有什么作家协会。一旦卖不出作品就要饿肚子。所以她有段时间靠救济过日子，当然这也不能作为她犯罪的理由。

由此可以得知，作假真是件技术活。连续剧《古董局中局》，就知道中国也有假古董。作者马伯庸的微博里提到以前上海藏书家潘明训先生收藏的《黄氏补千家集注杜工部诗》结尾处制版人的名字和制版日期被人删去了，这样一册元版古籍就提升到了宋版。造假这码事，古今中外雷同。

可以想象到当她刚从大学毕业出来后，意气风发，为作家名人写传记，而且上了“纽约时报”的畅销书榜。只因为一本失败的书而每况愈下，最后穷困潦倒。一步错，就走向了深渊。

李·伊斯雷尔令我想起另一部电影，《派克夫人的情人》“Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)”，朵诺西·派克也是纽约的犹太女作家，不过她一生要开心多了，她不是同性恋。结婚后仍然有无数朋友，她在自己文艺圈子几乎天天聚会谈笑风生，接着在好莱坞写剧本而大展身手。但最后回到纽约时，老友和丈夫都已离去，没有子女，没有广场舞，就剩下她孤身一人，醉醺醺的在街上晃来晃去，同样的令人感叹到她的寂寞。作为一个知名作家，这部电影也几次提到她。

本片得奥斯卡剧本改编奖提名。

导演玛丽埃尔·海勒 Marielle Heller曾经导过《少女日记》“ The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)”（见我的博文“《少女日记》不是《少女之心》”）

梅丽莎·麦卡西以本片和《伴娘》“ Bridesmaids (2011)”得奥斯卡提名，以本片和《女间谍》“Spy (2015)”得金球奖提名（见我的博文“《女间谍》”）。

英国演员理查德·E·格兰特以本片得奥斯卡和金球奖提名。

毕竟人类历史是没有办法复制的.社会发展也是不能复制的,而传播手段,智力成果的保护,形式还是最重要的.PS,其实是技术是最重要的,科技最重要的.内容重复了,不过换汤不换药,或者是换个载体,换个即得利益体,'伪造'模仿抄袭临摹,可以是简单劳动成果,也可能是复杂技术形式.

形式和内容结合到一起的时候,事非因果曲直明辩,就要看行为性质,包括损益成果了.

'伪造'的模仿的书信完全可以出版啊.只要实名实姓的说是伪造抄袭模仿甚至是剽窃的,但是有特殊的艺术形式和创造价值.这在文学作品和艺术领域本来就是屡见不鲜的.论责任归属,一为人身权,尤其是署名权,转载改编要注明出处和实名实姓;二为财产权,尤其是发行出租等等一切营利性行为的处断.

至于怎么判断创造性和艺术价值,还有编辑记者,出版商发行方,实在不行还有公共网络,社交平台,私人传播,学术交流.这些都不能限制其价值合理合法的体现啊.

实名实姓的说是伪造的模仿的,天下文章一大抄,模仿文人,或者是用文人的情怀去写作,也不是什么坏事情,毕竟伪造这件"小事",在文学和艺术领域其实就是个"创造""创作"的真伪问题,如果有艺术和文学价值,自然就是"作品","伪造"和"虚构"一样,都是文学创作和艺术价值的手段和体现.也是人类能沟通的张力本源. 比如伪造的名画(不如名画的价值),比如临摹的书法(不如原帖的价值),但一样是作品,尤其是伪造临摹的复制过程中,有个人劳力价值体现的.比如书法名家模仿的临摹石碑帖画,换了形式和载体,虽然"内容"是一样的,但是形式上载体上还是有创新,甚至是创造性.所以法律含义上的"伪造""抄袭""模仿""临摹",跟文学作品领域的"伪造""抄袭""模仿""临摹"也不完全一致.不能说王安石临摹了某个石碑帖画,模仿了某种画风笔风,就不是作品了,没有艺术价值和独创性了. 现代社会对著作权知识产权的保护,因为载体形式的不同,相同或者是相类似的内容,也可能成为作品的,比如演绎作品,比如汇编.但是传统意义上的,甚至是论文之类的,大段大段的抄袭剪切复制,还是能被判断出真伪,价值高低,是否独创性的,是否有新的内容代表,或者是新的形式载体,甚至是新的技术成果等等.

但是涉及到著作权,比如署名权完整权,比如表演权播放权发行权出租权,比如知识产权,登记制度,预防侵权,包括网络侵权等等措施.完全可以合理合法的解决这一问题啊.解决的问题的办法就是,实名实姓,模仿名人书信,然后署名姓结集,发行出租出售,或者是表演播放.这样就完全没有问题了.完全可以合理合法的规避法律责任啊.要那么多猜测假证伪证臆想甚至是偷窃剽窃抄袭伪造的各种侵权手段做什么?

不懂一些处于法律和艺术领域的法盲们或者是文盲们,到底在搞什么.

这电影完全算是演绎作品了.很好的解决了"盗版""心灵鸡汤"类的抄袭文存在的解决办法,让那些文不成法不成理不成的作品或者是作者们,有点现代社会的容身场所.不要总是处于法与理的边缘.甚至是做些与艺术绝缘的,更与法律无关的事情.比如诈骗啊卖银嫖娼啊,不劳而获抢劫强奸殴打拘留精神伪证假证,甚至是花钱买凶买凶杀人谋财害命的事情啊.

所以"独创性"这种判断标准, 是否可以修改为,一部作品只要表现形式上与已有作品存在差异，哪怕是对已有作品的完全的或实质的模仿甚至是抄袭,也可以视为具有独创性.毕竟著作权保护的"作品"是指能以某种有形形式复制的智力成果,但是并没有限制形式类型,尤其是著作权发展到今天,形式多样化,远超于内容多样化的意义.

著作权其中所谓的"独创性",不如说"初源性",最初起源是哪里,后续加工编辑改编,形式变换设计,技术革新,又是哪里,其中以智力成果的类型判断,属于文学或者艺术领域的,或属于科学科技范畴.后者一般会有著作权专利权商标权等多种知识产权保护类型和载体措施综合管辖,权利主体可以从客体形式中自由选择,专有权利专属性质最明显和对专有权利主体最为有利的,还有最能保护和展现智力成果的.

就如古代诗词,典故这样的文字作品,其抄袭模仿伪造也是层出不穷的,但是放到今天来,实名实姓归属权利主体后,还是会被称为作品的.比如三国,历经三国志, 三国志演义, 三国志通俗演义史传等等,内容上各种"增补抄袭模仿剽窃", 再比如歌剧魅影,音乐剧,舞台剧,电影,文学作品,各种表现形式皆有.所以同样的内容(智力成果),展现为不同的载体形式,才是当今"著作权"的保护重点.

技术发展,导致在法律上意义上,著作权中作品能承载的"智力成果","智力"程度其实是相对萎缩了,早期局限在几大复制传播(版权)的技术形式上,印刷术首当其冲, 音乐戏剧曲艺舞蹈杂技, 美术建筑,摄影电影, 图形作品模型作品紧随其后, 计算机发展又再度扩张了其表现形式,及于现在的APP软件甚至是会计软件,各种应用程序,更有CPU,芯片等等.智力成果,更多体现在载体形式多样复杂性,而不是内容独创性上.

人文性质的著作权,科技性质的专利权,更有商业价值的,商标权商号权, 再如植物新品种权和集成电路布图设计专有权等等.智力成果的表现形式,早就超越了"作品"这种智力载体的低技术高劳作复制形式,形成于生活和实践中,更有价值的更易于表现和被复制的载体,"科技"产品商品,比如光碟,比如桌椅,比如书藉,比如U盘,硬盘,甚至是计算机,最简单的象是手机,更比比皆是.而"内容"却转换为流量,信息,符号,数据.不再是传统意义上的文字,图象图形等.

所谓的智力劳动成果最小元素单位,符号,不仅于文字图象等,甚至是包括逻辑运算物理化学原理,作用于物质的美感,更加复杂,也更加冰冷了.这样才有越来越多的社会和人文冲突,甚至是战争,才会有科技发达后的二战核武,种族灭绝性质的国际和地区冲突.这些已经不是一国法律所能界定的,也不是哲学或者思想通融,或者是简单的政治理解甚至是权力统治能解决的.

最后说回抄袭和伪造仿造临摹吧,著作权里面也是有相应保护手段的,当不同形式相同内容,甚至是不同权利主体出现的时候,如果被大量复制加工转载甚至是出版发行表演演绎了,按形式,如果是新得载体,并且有相应的创造和艺术价值,也就是独创性,依旧侵权了(初源性),即不是免费表演也不是公益教育学习甚至是科研报道使用,那就要从侵权主体,比如表演出版录制播放者(著作权邻接权利主体);还有被侵权作品的权利归属主体,比如人身权中的署名权比如财产权的改编表演发行等等多方面的主体,追究原因了;如果涉及邻接权,版式设计, 专有出版的署作权,还需要进一步确权,再计算侵害和损益.从而分割财产价值,划分责任形式和决定赔偿补偿方式.

Rows of mansions,cubic office with rigorous work rules,old fashion jazz music.....you can make a decent guess about the location without seeing the actual neiborghood.And yes it's new york, again.From countless films depicting people living in this metropolis,This one is the newly update with similiar background but a memorable twist.

New york is the epitome of big cities.In one corner,billionaire is drinking wine in Michelin restraunt,in another,charlatan is stepping on the bench hawking his wares.Everybody is busy surviving in this merciless capitalized junggle.Lee Isreal is this lady so ordinary that get no one's attention but made her own special story.When our protagonist Lee Isreal met her publisher,all she got were bitter words,"you can't success if you dont play the game","you can be an asshole when you're famous".A person have to work his ass off to climb the social ladder in this city or you be knocked out.

Lee Isreal,whose books stood on the discount shelf,can hardly make a living after losing her job.But as the implication of her name and her unpopular interst on jewish writer,she would probably contrive some crafty ideas.And here it is.By selling her old letters,she explored a whole market of "originals".Her unfond skill suddenly became an advantage.Piece by piece,she started to make famous writer's letter that escaped the scrutiny of most people.Not everyone could imitate this.That's explain her cherishment of those fake originals and her anger when her friend Jack try to sell her letters arbitarily,"these are literature treasures!!"

While revealling Lee's history of counterfeit,the story also shade light on her life and freindship.She is an lonely lady with a sick old cat,an alcholic with a gay drinking buddy, and a book writer with limited recognition.She share her secret fraud with jack and sharing became a bond of genuine freindship but when the bookshop owener want to extend thier freindship,the fraud become an obstacle.Just like she want to write book without concerning sales,she want to be a good neighbor but can't make her own room clean,all these contrary narratives somehow decriminalize her as a fraud but a midlle-aged poor lady who deserve some sympathy.When the final scripts rolls in,we know that her letters that personating other famous writers was so impressive that even some biography included them before knowing it's fake.Even an honest people may show a bit of admiration,at least i do.

Another great story,wonderful music.Norah jones song describe new york city as a beautiful disease,this melancholy tone sing well with the story.When the film gives a few shots of new york city,it create not familiarity but a sphere of possibilities,you just don't know if the people walking by is a delicate criminal ,a talented writer or a cat lover,maybe all of them.

对故事背景和演员一无所知的我，在查阅资料时被惊呆了。 其实看到快结束也猜到一些，靠模仿名人书信被判缓刑的这位过气传记女作家，

真有其人。

女作家依托自身文笔和所做的大量功课，将名人书信模仿的比本尊还像本尊，甚至还会模仿打电话，甚至还有名人著作里加入了她仿造的内容，再版时才被出版社删除。其本人特立独行，过着自己喜爱的生活，终身未嫁，活到70多岁。 比这段历史还要让我吃惊的是女主梅丽莎·麦卡西，看的时候还在想会不会主人公最后一夜醒来决定重新做人，然后变漂亮了。电影里并没有，百度图片满足了我。 外表和妆容并不是梅丽莎·麦卡西获得此次奥斯卡最佳女主提名的原因，此片数次让我回忆起最爱的《刺猬的优雅》，弥补了BE的遗憾，在致郁之后也被彻底治愈。女作家的孤独潦倒和她不与人群为伴的倔强，都是每一个社恐深宅最生动的写照，如同对镜看到自己。在被爱人抛弃、朋友背叛、老猫离世的深渊中无力挣扎，最终自我拯救。在看到Lee脚下又有一只奶猫出没，热泪盈眶了都。Lee在法庭上说，她并不为伪造信件而感到后悔，相反觉得，这是她的人生巅峰，因为她为这些作品感到骄傲。这是本片中梅丽莎·麦卡西最动人，最高光的时刻。 有意思的是，电影根据本人回忆录改编，而回忆录，好像也是别人伪造的😂。 影片节奏妥帖，温馨动人，摄影感人，歌曲动听分享Various Artists的专辑《Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)》:http://music.163.com/album/73889066/?userid=390281280(来自@网易云音乐)。5星推荐！