Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Marielle Heller’s little film tells an entertaining, well-structured story (one that smartly points its fingers in many directions), made more interesting for having such a grating person as the central character. It’s a feat to tell the story in a way that an emotional connection is even possible. The performance of Melissa McCarthy is another important element to achieve that: caustic, hurt, sad, but with an underlying intelligence, all of which beautifully projected by her acting; Richard E. Grant’s acting gives a nice counterpoint, him exuberant to hew low-profile character; they form a good punch-counterpunch pair. The film has competent period recreation (both costume design and art direction), well-captured by cinematographer Brandon Trost; Anne McCabe’s editing moves the film along quite nicely.