WOMEN BEHIND THE WORDS文字背後的奇女子
Two films based on true stories about false authorship. By KEVIN MA 兩部改編自真人真事的電影，分別探討作者身份這個主題。撰文：馬樂民
‘My name is Claudine, I live in Montigny; I was born there in 1884; I shall probably not die there.’ These are the classic opening lines of French novel Claudine at School, which was credited to Willy – real name Henry Gauthier-Villars – a prolific writer based in Paris. But it was eventually revealed that Willy actually had a team of ghostwriters. In the case of the Claudine novel series, the real author was Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, Willy’s wife.
Colette eventually reclaimed authorship of her work, but that fight isn’t the subject of the film Colette. Instead, the film traces Willy and Colette’s tumultuous marriage – namely how Claudine came about, their scandalous extramarital affairs and Colette’s eventual liberation as an artist. It’s easy to see from the film why Colette’s life and the oppressive social mores she faced have been the subject of songs and essays through the years; it’s an incredible story of an independent, opinionated woman that still resonates today.
Director Wash Westmoreland ( Still Alice) gets an impressive career-best performance from Keira Knightley, who infuses Colette with life and intensity. Her performance, as well as Thomas Adès’ attention-grabbing operatic score, bring a ferocity to a film that could’ve easily been a stiff period biopic.
Another woman who has grappled with issues of authorship is Lee Israel.
In the 1970s and ’80s, Israel had minor success as a biographer of artists and literary figures. But when her career took a hit due to her vitriolic personality and alcoholism, she used her talent to forge letters by late writers and actors that she then sold to bookshops. In all, Israel forged more than 400 letters.
Israel’s fraud is the subject of Can You Ever Forgive Me?, based on the writer’s memoirs. Those used to seeing Melissa McCarthy in comedies such as Bridesmaids and Spy will be surprised to see her repurposing her comically abrasive persona into an Oscar-worthy performance as the notorious writer. McCarthy doesn’t shy away from the nastiest parts of Israel’s personality, but Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty’s script reveals a vulnerable and even relatable side of Israel that makes her a compelling character.
The film also raises an interesting question: is the letters’ authorship the only thing that gives them their worth? Despite having someone else’s name on them, Israel believes her forgeries to be some of her best work – an opinion shared by the FBI agent in charge of her case and even one of her victims. ‘I’m certainly not angry anymore, though it was an expensive and very large learning experience for me,’ one scammed bookshop owner told The New York Times. ‘And she’s really an excellent writer. She made the letters terrific.’
法國小 說《Claudine at School》的經典少場白是：的「我 名字是Claudine，家住蒙提尼，於 1884年生於斯，但願不會死於斯。」作者 Willy 其實是巴黎多產作家 Henry Gauthier-Villars，但後來被揭發 Willy 其實
是有一班影子寫手為他代筆，而《Claudine》小說系列的真正作者，是其妻子SidonieGabrielle Colette。
雖然 Colette 其後奪回該小說的作者身份，但這場爭奪戰並非《Colette》重的心；電影著墨於 Willy 和 Colette 波折重重的，婚姻 道出《Claudine》小說的誕生、令人震驚的婚外情，以至最後 Colette 解脫束，縛成為代豪一 文 的心路歷程。透過電，影 觀眾不難理解Colette 的生一 及當年壓迫女性的道德觀為何會成為後世歌曲和故事的題材。這位獨立自主女性的非凡故事，至今仍然能夠引人共鳴。
在導演 Wash Westmoreland（ 曾執導《永的遠 愛麗絲》）的指導下， Keira Knightley 以激情演活了 Colette，發揮從影以來最出色的演技。女主角的動人演出，再上自加出 Thomas Adès 手筆、極為動聽的歌劇式配樂，令這部以人物傳記為題材的古裝電影充滿激情，毫僵絲 不 硬死板。
Lee Israel 是另一名為了作家身份而掙扎的。女子 在 1970及年80 代， Israel 為不少著名藝術家和文學家編寫傳，記 曾經薄有名氣，但其尖酸的刻薄 性格和酗酒惡，習 令事業迅速走下坡，於是她利用的自己 寫作天份，偽造已故作家及明星的書信真，跡 並販賣給書店圖利，她總共偽造了超過 400封書信。
Israel 一手策劃的騙局為成 《大老作家》的題材，而這部電正改影 是 編自她本人的回憶錄。Melissa McCarthy 在《最爆伴娘團》和《凸務 Madam》等喜劇的演出為觀眾所熟悉，但她於本劇一改詼諧形象和戲路，飾演這位聲名狼藉的作家並交出金像級演繹，為大家帶來驚。喜 McCarthy 毫無顧忌地演繹出 Israel 最卑鄙的面而貌， Nicole Holofcener 和 Jeff Whitty 的劇本，亦刻畫出 Israel 脆弱和惹人共鳴的一面，創造出一個極具說服力的。角色
電影同時也帶出一個有趣的：問這題些信出自何人之手是否唯一值得關注的重點？雖然 Israel 冒認別人的身份去寫信，但她真相心 信這些經偽造的文書是她最出色的，作品 連參與案件調查的 FBI探甚員至，其中一位受害者也有同感。「我已不再憤怒，即使這個教訓非常昂貴。」一位被騙的書店老闆接受《紐約時報》訪問時這樣說：「而且她真的是個出色的，的作家 她寫 信確實非常精采。」