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'The Hoax' is based on Clifford Irving's memoir of the same name, and sees Richard Gere return to the screen in great form as Irving, a novelist who at the beginning of the 1970s convinced his publisher, McGraw-Hill, that he had secured the coup 'of the century' - to write Howard Hughes's autobiography.

Down on his luck and desperate for a subject for his next book, Irving comes up with the idea to write Hughes's autobiography. Irving believes that he won't be rumbled as Hughes has been a recluse for many years; he's also banked on Hughes's reputation as a somewhat 'unstable' character - no one would really believe him if he did try to expose Irving. What follows is a glorious chase as Irving, and his trusty sidekick Richard 'Dick' Suskind - played by Alfred Molina - have to stay one step ahead in the game.

Gere portrays Irving as a character that gets a little beyond himself with the lies and the fantasy of it all, yet still believes he can pull it off. Gere has maintained his boyish good looks and as Irving we can believe that here is a man that is not averse to a little deception, not least to his wife Edith (Marcia Gay Hardern), whose unswerving love for Irving, despite his affair with would-be actress Nina Van Pallandt (Julie Delpy), means she becomes implicated in the events. Nor is Irving beyond setting up his faithful best friend Suskind with a prostitute so that he can keep him well within his control when Suskind starts to kick out a little and demand a bit more respect - and money - for his involvement in Irving's ruse. Yet Gere plays Irving with such charm and affection that we're ready with plausible excuses on his behalf. As Suskind, Alfred Molina elicits some sympathy, as we see him in conflict with his loyalty to Irving and his desire for recognition in his own right. But it's with Irving that we're going.

There's a short section just before the end of the film that although doesn't spoil the enjoyment of it, perhaps makes it feel a little 'disjointed'. We see Irving in dream-like sequences believing he's being captured by Hughes's men, who want a chapter concerning President Nixon included in the book. It's also around this time that Irving takes to dressing like the young Hughes with penciled-in mustache and slicked back hair. If we can't believe that Irving's being kidnapped and tortured by Hughes's entourage, then we're left wondering if the pressure of his self-made fantasy world and his impersonation of the recluse has left him - and us - believing that he's finally being possessed by Hughes.

It doesn't end in tears, though - well, not as many as one might think. And we're left with Irving smiling as he watches through the window of a book store, his once loyal and trusty aide Suskind signing the children's book he told Irving he always wanted to write. If there's any moral to Irving's story it's pretty hard to find in the film: director Lasse Hallstrom keeps it fun, and fast moving - a roller-coaster of events of one man's bitter-sweet moment in time.

Learn more about this author, Jed Eane.
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