The Critic (15)

In 1934 London, Jimmy Erskine is the universally feared and revered drama critic of The London Chronicle. When David Brooke inherits ownership of the newspaper from his late father and makes swingeing cuts, Erskine and the old guard fear their days are numbered. In retaliation, Erskine hatches a diabolical plan to ruthlessly exploit Brooke's obsession with actress Nina Land, unaware that the stage starlet is having an illicit affair with Brooke's brother-in-law.

LondonNet Film Review

The Critic (15) Film Review from LondonNet

Sir Ian McKellen makes merry as an embittered theatre reviewer, notorious for bile-slathered diatribes and occasionally cruel quips about an actor’s appearance, in director Anand Tucker’s efficient 1930s-set thriller. Adapted by Patrick Marber from Anthony Quinn’s 2015 novel Curtain Call, The Critic delights in the devastation wrought by McKellen’s waspish wordsmith as he bulldozes through other people’s lives and shows a similar disregard for his personal safety as a gay man cruising for sex in parks when homosexuality was illegal…

An ill-fated blackmail plot provides a robust dramatic structure and Tucker tightens screws on doomed and largely unlikeable characters as their fortunes unravel through lust, arrogance and greed. McKellen sinks his pearly whites into each scathing putdown and he catalyses delightful cat-and-mouse screen chemistry with Gemma Arterton’s struggling actress, who yearns for words of approval and is expertly manipulated into betraying her moral compass. Powerhouse supporting female cast including Lesley Manville and Romola Garai are underused.

If the title character was penning an assessment of Tucker’s picture, I suspect he would decree it fails to wholeheartedly deliver on the promise of high-calibre talent behind and in front of the camera. To directly quote McKellen’s egotistical arbiter of cultural taste: “Only the greats are remembered.”

In 1934 London, Jimmy Erskine (McKellen) is the universally feared and revered drama critic of The London Chronicle, perpetually flanked by his loyal secretary, Tom Tunner (Alfred Enoch). Erskine’s glowing praise or withering putdowns have the power to elevate theatre makers and performers overnight or shutter a play before the dust has settled from the fall of an opening night curtain. He is an impassioned torch bearer for the art form (“Theatre matters more than politics!”) and bristles when an editor suggests an amendment to one particularly florid word. “I doubt our readers can read,” Erskine pithily retorts.

When David Brooke (Mark Strong) inherits ownership of The London Chronicle from his late father and makes swingeing cuts, Erskine and the old guard including opera critic Hugh Morris (Ron Cook) fear their days are numbered. In retaliation, Erskine hatches a diabolical plan to ruthlessly exploit Brooke’s obsession with actress Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), unaware that the stage starlet is having an illicit affair with Brooke’s brother-in-law (Ben Barnes).

The Critic elegantly outlines its cruel intentions in the opening hour and calmly delivers dire and predictable outcomes for almost everyone ensnared in Erskine’s web. Pacing is steady, to the film’s detriment, in an inevitably tragic final act when heightened stakes should quicken pulses. McKellen is imperious, meeting potential setbacks with pursed lips and a lexicon of bile. He will be fondly remembered when the film around him quietly fades to black.

– Sarah Lee