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The Critic

The Critic

  • Status: Released
  • 13-09-2024
  • Runtime: 101 min
  • Score: 5.952
  • Vote count: 85

Jimmy Erskine is the most feared theatre critic of the age. He lives as flamboyantly as he writes and takes pleasure in savagely taking down any actor who fails to meet his standards. When the owner of the Daily Chronicle dies, and his son takes over, Jimmy quickly finds himself at odds with his new boss and his position under threat. In an attempt to preserve the power and influence he holds so sacred, Jimmy strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actress, entangling them and the boss in a thrilling but deadly web of desire, blackmail, and betrayal.

Ian McKellen

Jimmy Erskine

Gemma Arterton

Nina Land

Mark Strong

David Brooke

Lesley Manville

Annabel Land

Ben Barnes

Stephen Wyley

Romola Garai

Cora Wyley

Alfred Enoch

Tom Tunner

Ron Cook

Hugh Morris

Claire Skinner

Mary Brooke

Matthew Cottle

Graham Meadows

Beau Gadsdon

Freya

Nikesh Patel

Ferdy Harwood

Rebecca Gethings

Joan

Éva Magyar

Dolly Langdon

Jay Simpson

Slyfield

Jacob James Beswick

Robbie

Nicholas Bishop

Richard Pugh

Albie Marber

Lennie

Debra Gillett

Mrs. Keefe

Jake Neads

Flamineo

Griffin Stevens

Lodovico

Joe Coen

Brachiano

Oliver Shaw

Rowan

Avye Leventis

Lizzie

Tom Padley

Police Officer

Ed Madden

Ivan Franklin

Jasper Britton

Gideon Lambert

Pearce Quigley

Mr. Morrisey

Nick Moss

Blackshirt

Tom Rouvray

Giovanni

Louis Pieris

Doctor Julio

Aisling Longshaw

Cornelia

Magnus Gordon

Gasparo

Eleanor Wyld

Isabella / Viola

Shanika Ocean

Zanche

Ross Armstrong

Oswald Mosley (uncredited)

Cara Ballingall

Daphne (uncredited)

Grant Crookes

Critic (uncredited)

Libbi Fox

Diana Guinness (uncredited)

Ty Hurley

Private Members Club / Bar Patron (uncredited)

James McNicholas

Hospital PC (uncredited)

David Thrower

Cafe Owner (uncredited)

Paul Warwick

Distinguished Gentleman (uncredited)

CinemaSerf

If you saw Sir Ian McKellen with fellow thesp Sir Derek Jacobi in the television sitcom "Vicious" from around ten years ago, you'll be able to anticipate the gist of his characterisation of the acerbic theatre critic "Erskine" who is way more famed for distributing bile rather than bouquets. His new boss (Mark Strong) wants the newspaper to appeal to an altogether more wholesome family audience and so wants him to tone things down a bit. "Yeah, right" thinks he - and then his own behaviour gets him into trouble with the police and given one month's notice from his job. Facing looming ignominy, he determines to get the lowdown on his ostensibly pure as the driven snow aristocratic proprietor and to that end recruits aspiring actress "Nina" (Gemma Arterton) of whom he has been much less than flattering in the past. Rather gullibly, she agrees to become a pawn in his manipulate game that leads to a series of misadventures and thence to a tragedy that maybe puts the role of opinionated curmudgeon into perspective. This starts of quite entertainingly with plenty of pith and ghastliness from the star, but very quickly it descends into an entirely far-fetched and rather disappointing affair (no pun intended) that plays to just about every stereotype as it rather sadly sets out to prove that the best bits are all in the trailers. At it's best, the writing does make you smile and writhe a little uncomfortably in your cinema seat, but for the most part it's just predicable with characters that it's fairly easy not to like - except, maybe, Alfred Enoch's factotum "Tom" whom at least starts off with some shred of human decency to counter "Erskine" and his selfishness. Ben Barnes shows he is ageing well but again hasn't really enough of a part to work with developing his lovestruck character and Strong is really anything but. It does look good, but it's too reliant on a shock factor that isn't so very original and that soon peters out.