THE CRITIC

THURSDAY 15TH MAY | 7.30PM | TRINITY THEATRE

SYNOPSIS

A thoroughly enjoyable and engaging watch!

The Critic, Jimmy Erskine is the most feared and famous theatre critic in 1930s London, saving his most savage takedowns for Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), an already unsure leading lady. He takes pleasure in ritually tearing her down, a practice that has further eroded her fragile sense of confidence. As a gay man forever at the mercy of laws that prohibit his very existence, Jimmy is living life on the edge, indulging in rough sex in the park with strangers while showboating his flamboyance in writing. But when his newspaper’s proprietor dies and his son (Mark Strong) takes over, Jimmy is told to be careful, to avoid falling foul of his new boss by cutting down on the cattiness and when his job security becomes even more precarious, he’s forced to turn to Nina for help.

McKellen’s characterful countenance is put to expressive use: the camera lingers not just on his eye bags, but on a whole set of face luggage, all of it packed with spite and gleeful vitriol.  The many withering critiques of Nina’s acting (“replace damp squib with wet blanket!”) provide a great many laughs and there’s a real infectious sense of debauched fun to the world that’s set up, tagging along with McKellen’s vile and self-important egotist drunkenly parading around the West End, handsome man and notebook in tow.

Reviews

 Do see this if you can! A superb Ian Mckellan but Gemma Arterton is a close second!

Fantastic sample of British film-making. Ian McKellen, now 85, delivers a powerful performance on par with the rest of the cast. 

If you like quality British cinema with nuance and beautiful photography on display, you are in for a treat.

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