Sir Ian McKellen: Perfectly cast as an intelligent, self-important, pompous ass. Photo / supplied
Sir Ian McKellen: Perfectly cast as an intelligent, self-important, pompous ass. Photo / supplied
Film review: In the titular role of 1930s drama critic Jimmy Erskine, Sir Ian McKellen is perfectly cast as an intelligent, self-important, pompous ass who thinks he can drift through life tearing down aspiring artists without consequence.
The long-time theatre reviewer of London’s Daily Chronicle newspaper, Erskine calls his placeof employ “this festering organ”, and chivvies Soho’s theatres to start the show on time because “I’ve got a deadline!” His resulting reviews are full of biting wit and cavalier cruelty, and readers and performers hang on his every excoriating word.
After an eviscerating review of her latest play causes young starlet Nina Land (Gemma Arterton) to be stricken with stage fright, Nina and Erskine strike up an unusual mentor-mentee relationship.
But when his caustic criticism leads to him being cast into early retirement by Mark Strong’s newspaper proprietor, Erskine concocts a plan of blackmail and bargains to exact his revenge.
Director Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie) has given us an energetic comedy-drama based on the book Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn (the author, not the actor), and the hugely enjoyable script bounces from choice line to witty put-down. “You were … very audible,” Nina’s mother (an underused Lesley Manville) stretches for a compliment.
The plot is full of fleshed-out characters, immoral practice and a whole lot of posh tosh as it portrays those heady days when reviewers employed their own typists and their opinions were regarded as relevant. As the Chronicle grapples with falling readership and starts trimming the fat of its contributors’ expense accounts, the story even feels remarkably contemporary in the 2024 media landscape.
Now 85 and with decades of showbiz experience, McKellen is clearly having a blast as the older gentleman whose “proclivities” involve brief transactional relationships in darkened public parks, but who behaves as though he is untouchable. Arterton (Summerland, Gemma Bovery) does her usual well-acted but inconsequential fluff, but Strong is particularly compelling as the beleaguered newspaper editor with self-esteem issues.
The Critic starts to lose its way in its melodramatic and sharply unkind third act, which shifts the tone from frolicking fun to frown-inducing. But since not a single character deserves our sympathies, one is left feeling rather as if one has watched a whole lot of sound and fury which ultimately signifies nothing.
