There’s rarely anything good to say about critics in the arts. It’s understandable that they’re not usually the heroes of many stories. In most cases they’re portrayed as joyless, cruel and a little pathetic; they’re often unsuccessful artists themselves who live to put others down, or worse, sycophants looking for a famous friend.
Without getting into any sort of philosophical or factual debate about the nature of the person who is drawn to criticism, it’s safe to say that the drama critic in “The Critic” takes all the worst stereotypes to hysterical heights.
Set in 1930s London, this drama stars Ian McKellen as Jimmy Erskine, a seasoned theater critic whose reviews can make or break a play or a performer. He has a monastic devotion to telling the truth in as entertaining a way as possible, and knows what he must sacrifice to do so.
McKellen says in an ominous voiceover, “The drama critic is intimidated and humiliated in the judgment he has to make. He must be cold and utterly alone.”
When a woman dares to talk to him after the play, and offer her opinion on the material and performances, he immediately tries to get her out of the restaurant and claims she needs to be protected from the general public. When an actress, Nina Land, confronts him about his absurdly disparaging criticisms of her, he refuses to apologize. And when the newspaper’s new boss, David Brooke, pleads with him to calm down, he scoffs: “Be kind,” he says. “More beauty, less beast.”
But what begins as a satire turns into a terrifying tragedy with one plot twist after another. This is a movie that could have listened to the advice its antihero gave to the faltering actress: do less. A great actress like Lesley Manville gets only a few scenes as Nina’s mother and she’s only minimally important in all of this. It attempts to be a complex spider-web of compelling, interconnected stories, but few characters are brought to life enough to make us care about them.
Brilliantly directed by Anand Tucker and written by Patrick Marber, “The Critic,” based on Anthony Quinn’s novel “Curtain Call,” presents itself as much more than a murder mystery. Instead, the film is about a man who will go to great lengths when his job and freedom are threatened. Erskine is a gentleman critic whose power and authority have gone unchallenged for so long that he has become confused beyond recognition. However, his words don’t just destroy. They also inspire. Even the actress he repeatedly trashes admits this: she tells him it was his writing that made her fall in love with the theater.
There are some fun ideas here, and good performances. McKellen is having a wonderful time inhabiting this charismatic monster with whom you’re on board until you’re actually not. Erskine is also gay; an open secret that becomes a burden with the rise of his new boss and fascist ideas around him. But none of this really adds up to anything poignant or overly entertaining; its darkness is both unsubtle and superficial, as most become victims of Erskine’s motives. The theater critic as dictator is a juicy premise; “The Critic” just can’t live up to the promise.
The film “The Critic,” released in select theaters Friday by Greenwich Entertainment, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “some linguistic and sexual content.” Duration: 100 minutes. Two-and-a-half stars out of four.
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