The Critic – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – Anand Tucker
Writers – Patrick Marber, Anthony Quinn
Stars – Gemma Arterton, Ben Barnes, Ian McKellen

This film is set in the 1930s, with Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen), the chief drama critic of the Daily Chronicle. He is the doyen of the London theatre critics with an excoriating turn of phrase if some actor or actress in his opinion does not pass muster. He has his knife firmly stuck into one Nina Land (Gemma Arterton) who is entering into those tricky years for an actress, namely her thirties. However, Jimmy’s position is not so secure as the new proprietor of the Daily Chronicle David Brooke (Mark Strong) is less forgiving of Jimmy’s caustic prose. Strong admires secretly Nina and lets Jimmy know that he should moderate his reviews. He also warns him gently about his homosexual predilections. Jimmy walks a tightrope. Nina cannot understand why Jimmy is so vicious about her. She has had him on a pedestal since the beginning of her career. In order to protect himself from the dangers emerging in the Daily Chronicle Jimmy sees an opportunity to use Nina to compromise Brooke and thereby to an extent protect his position in the Daily Chronicle. However, events go awry.

This is a vehicle for McKellen to show, in his ninth decade, his remarkable talents as an actor. He commands the screen. He is particularly impressive in the close-up moments when his face is in repose but his brain is working for his own selfish advantage.  Arterton is a fine foil for McKellen and she manages to an extent to reveal through her blunt honesty a side of Jimmy which has some compassion. What is remarkable about McKellen’s performance is that Jimmy is a thoroughly unlikable character yet his interaction with Nina it allows Jimmy to be someone for whom the viewer has a degree of empathy. McKellen’s performance is that of a true master of his craft.

There are a variety of sub-plots which all intermingle with the three main characters and include a fine but all too brief performance by Lesley Manville as Annabel Land, Nina’s mother. The cinematography throughout envelopes the viewer in the shadowy glamour of London in the nineteen thirties. It is a precarious time and the skullduggery of Jimmy complements the moral vacuity of the politics of the time. Everything is in a perilous flux.

Whatever the complexity of the storyline the performance of McKellen is engrossing to behold.  He is entitled to all the plaudits.