After 25 years as a major Hollywood star, and many decades of stage success before that, Sir Ian McKellen shows no sign of stopping. Fresh from reports that he may play Gandalf one last time in the forthcoming Lord of The Rings spin-off The Hunt for Gollum, the 85-year-old stars this week in British thriller The Critic.
Set in 1934, he plays Jimmy Erskine, a vicious theatre critic for a popular London newspaper. His comfortable life is thrown into jeopardy when the new owner of the paper David Brooke (Mark Strong) serves him notice after he is caught with a male prostitute. Desperate, he reaches out to Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), a stage actress he has been particularly harsh on but his new boss adores. He offers a deal: seduce Brooke in exchange for rave reviews.
The title may suggest that this is a chance for the role of the critic in society to be examined, but the film is less interested in the craft of journalism than it is spinning a yarn about greed and deceit. Every element in this melodramatic period piece is positioned to give the character something to lose, or to turn the screw as the plot gets more unhinged. How far will Jimmy go to retain his life of opening nights and boozy lunches? “All men have secrets” McKellen growls as he begins his plot, and the lengths people will go to in order to hide them is what the films is really fixated on.
It would have been nice for the script to ponder more on Erskine’s suffering as a gay man at a time when homosexuality was illegal. It would have also been interesting to examine the pressure Land felt as an actress of a certain age, or the rise of pre-war fascism in the UK just before the Second World War. Instead, all these things are used as chess pieces to heighten the tension. It’s enjoyable in an illicit sort of way, with everyone getting their hands dirty at some point. Mostly, however, it’s bolstered by the strength of its stars.
Arterton has always been underrated as an actor. Wasted in Hollywood as a love interest in blockbuster flops, she has had more success in British film and TV (including current show Funny Woman). As Land, we can see her struggle between her ambition and dignity, standing up for herself while clearly yearning for the validation of plaudits. She has the ideal scene partner in McKellen, who steals the show in a devious but layered performance. He’s a ruthless villain, committing progressively unspeakable acts as time goes on, but the Oscar nominee makes sure to show enough humanity to make Jimmy compelling. Like his dark role in 2019’s The Good Liar, there is something thrilling about watching a charismatic baddie.
The Critic is stuffed with plot twists and underused characters (it’s a crime that we see so little of Lesley Manville as Land’s mother). Nevertheless, it’s a deliciously wicked 100 minutes that will get rave reviews from those who want to see the dark side of a national treasure.
