Great performances in a unique setting save this film from drudgery
As I’ve mentioned in another review, there’s something about British period films that consistently fail to grab my attention. One of the only ways to counteract this effect is to put Ian McKellen in the film, preferably in a leading role, and in this way, The Critic got incredibly lucky.
McKellen hasn’t been in a truly great film for some years now but has accumulated enough good will among the film community that many, like me, will want to check out his latest movie regardless.
On a more self-reflexive note, as an amateur reviewer (I’m not sure I can call myself a critic until someone starts paying me a set rate per article instead of whatever this is), The Critic offers an opportunity to glimpse a world gone by—one where theatre critics existed and Letterboxd didn’t.
Movies about writers are also always going to be of at least some interest to me. When it’s done well it’s nice to see the intricacies of my chosen profession examined on the big screen. When it’s not… well, at least it can be fun to laugh at.
Byline
When theatre critic Jimmy Erskine (McKellen) finds himself at odds with his paper’s new owner, Viscount Brooke (Mark Strong), Jimmy concocts a plan of blackmail involving actress Nina Land (Gemma Arterton) in order to secure his job. The complexities of Nina’s personal life, however, threaten to topple Jimmy’s schemes.
Despite being marketed as a thriller, The Critic opens as anything but. I actually thought I must’ve misread the movie’s logline when I was researching it beforehand, because for a decent chunk of the run-time, The Critic is a typical drama. As soon as I got sick of waiting for the plot to kick in and accepted that this wasn’t the movie I thought it was going to be, this was no longer a bad thing.
Ian McKellen’s acting does most of the heavy lifting in this regard, but how his character was written and positioned worked well, too. As a gay man in 1930s London, he faces all sorts of prejudice, but that doesn’t mean this is some kind of sob story. Indeed, there is real joy and humour in McKellen’s performance, and Jimmy—as societally oppressed as he is—lives life to its fullest.
Thesis Statement
The movie honestly does pull a good trick when it comes to Jimmy. The man is clearly facing many unjustified hardships. He takes a lot of this in his stride, which is admirable, until his writing comes under the threat of censorship from Mark Strong’s character. As a critic, Jimmy specialises in exaggerated and witty negative reviews that are fun to read, but—as Nina Land discovers—heartbreaking to be the subject of.
There’s something deliciously engaging about how Jimmy lies and manipulates in order to preserve his career as a writer. Even though he’s committing ostensibly immoral acts, the narrative does a great job at keeping you on his side—up to a point, of course. This isn’t quite a Breaking Bad-level fall from grace, but watching a protagonist who is also a victim sidestep heroics in favour of selfishness is just fun.
McKellen can fill a room by himself when it comes to acting, but the supporting cast is also great. Mark Strong gives a very subdued performance that I really liked, and Gemma Arterton is able to effectively carry the narrative during one or two sequences that are light on McKellen. Her ability to purposefully “act” at differing levels of quality is impressive.
It’s a Critical Hit
I’ve harped on about the acting, because that’s really the only reason you should see this movie. As a thriller, it lacks a strong hook that really drags down the first half of the story. Waiting for something to happen while listening to Ian McKellen compose a scathing review of an actress and justify his writing style to his superiors simply isn’t going to be for everybody.
The Critic also really lacks in tension. It's fun to watch characters dance to Jimmy’s tune—and watch Jimmy himself spiral—but it’s mostly unclear what the narrative is building to, and ultimately, I wonder what the movie was even trying to say. It’s a fun-adjacent story on the surface, but Jimmy, despite possessing strong convictions and a solid characterisation, lacks an effective arc.
All that said, The Critic was enjoyable. Like many of McKellen’s recent movies, this one’s likely to sink beneath the surface without causing so much as a ripple—I just don’t think it has broad enough appeal to reach even those who might really enjoy it. Anybody who admires Ian McKellen will have a hard time hating it, though.
***
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