THE CRITIC

Review: A renowned and feared theatre critic in 1930s London becomes entangled in a web of deceit and murder.
Director: Anand Tucker
Actors: Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Lesley Manville, Mark Strong, Ben Barnes, Romola Garai, Alfred Enoch, Claire Skinner, Beau Gadsdon, Pearce Quigley, Rebecca Gethings, Joe Coen, Jay Simpson, Nikesh Patel, Nicholas Bishop, Matthew Cottle, Eva Magyar and Oliver Shaw
Year: 2023
Genre: Period Drama, Crime, Drama, Mystery and Thriller
Conclusion: 3/5
Originally shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. This film apparently had so many mixed reviews that the film’s distributor requested re-shoots. It is now finally in our cinemas and here is my verdict. Ian McKellen gives an outstanding performance. They couldn’t have done this film without him. I could actually see that Ian McKellen was just loving doing this role. Watching this film did remind me of his performance in Richard III (1995). Just go and see this film for his performance as a very sinister and manipulative character. I thought Gemma Arterton was brilliant and I felt she made her role look so easy. I was very surprised at how small Lesley Manville’s role was although I thought she was brilliant with the little time screen she had. Fantastic line up of actors who all give great performances. The story is set in a time when newspapers and their theatre critics were much more powerful than they are now. It is adapted from a novel called Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn.