The world of 1936 London theater takes center stage inThe Critic, director Anand Tucker’s latest movie that made its world premiere at theToronto International Film Festival. The film, in fact, marks Tucker’s return to feature work in over a decade, the last being 2010’sLeap Year. The two couldn’t be more different: whereLeapYearwas a romantic comedy that offered hope and tugged at the heartstrings, tying everything with a Hollywood happy ending,The Critictakes us to the darker corners of desire and ambition, spinning a tale of deceit and greed.
Penned by the brilliant English playwright Patrick Marber (Notes on a Scandal,Closer),The Criticstars Sir Ian McKellenas the eponymous theater critic for The Daily Chronicle, Jimmy Erskine. When we meet Jimmy, the Chronicle has just undergone a change in management, with David Brooke (Mark Strong) taking over after his father’s passing. David’s plan to steer the renowned newspaper towards a more family-friendly direction threatens Jimmy’s long-standing position as its esteemed critic. Jimmy writes with passion, to the say the least, revering what he likes and dragging what he doesn’t through the mud with his prose, the latter of which David vehemently disdains.
On top of it all, David doesn’t approve of Jimmy’s extracurricular activities, whether it’s his excessive drinking or his being gay (he cruises regularly in the park and has regular run-ins with law enforcement). To secure his career — and, more importantly, the luxuries it affords him — Jimmy enlists the help of stage actress Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), whose talent fails to impress, but who is incidentally the object of David’s secret affection. Nina wants nothing more than Jimmy’s approval, and fame of course, so she agrees to go along with Jimmy’s plan to blackmail David.
A Promising Story That Falters in Its Follow-Through
The Criticbegins with promise, taking us to a London that is decidedly grim. Cold, dark, immediately intriguing, Tucker hammers the imminence of WWII, taking us down dingy alleys and through dimly lit corridors. There’s also the presence of the Blackshirts, supporters of the British Union of Fascists (a political partyfounded by Oswald Mosley, whomPeaky Blindersfans will recognize as Sam Claflin’s terrifying character), who stalk the streets and conduct anti-queer police raids. In fact, we see Jimmy and his lover/assistant Tom Tunner (Alfred Enoch) being brutalized for embracing each other in one harrowing scene.
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Even the characters' costumes — Claire Finlay-Thompson’s costume design never misses here — feel appropriately strict and stifling: the suits are very structured, the layers are endless, the colors teeter between neutral and drab, the buttons are done all the way up. Evidently, this isn’t a safe place for a lot of people, particularly Jimmy, who must resort to moving through the shadows — in more ways than one, as we soon learn — out of safety and survival.
Considering all this, Jimmy’s defiance of David’s attempt at censoring and sugar-coating his articles could be read as noble stance for freedom of self-expression. However, and this is whereThe Criticfalters, it’s an underdeveloped element of the story, leaving one to question if it was meant to be an element at all. Indeed, the plot presents too many players and takes too many turnswith their arcsand motivations that the stories that could have been essentially never go anywhere. Though the film starts as a thriller, it ends up being a stage-y melodrama that keeps you guessing in all the wrong ways.
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A Stellar Cast Goes Underutilized
The most interesting aspect ofThe Criticis the dynamic between Jimmy and Nina. We’ve seen McKellen play the righteous villain before, but, here, he’s absolutely despicable, inky and cold-hearted (not unlike the reviews he writes). Arterton is also thrilling to watch; Nina could have easily just been a doe-eyed pawn in Jimmy’s game, but Arterton lends her a scrappiness that makes her a real player — even Jimmy can’t help but respect her. Indeed, when he questions why she values his criticism so much, Nina offers excellent food for thought: it was his reviews, not the performances, that inspired her to be an actress.
Of course, this dynamic is short-lived.The Criticsprints to the resolution of their blackmail against David, and it’s all downhill from there. Tucker has gatheredan ensemble castof enviable British talent — who, to their credit, do what they can with the thin material they’re given — but it feels like a missed opportunity for a lot of them. With utmost sensitivity, Strong does his best to help us understand his final act (which won’t be spoiled here). Meanwhile, Romola Garai, Ben Barnes, and Lesley Manville are criminally wasted in roles that either deserve more screen time or better development.
In all,The Criticsimmers without ever reaching a boiling point. If Jimmy himself were watching the film, one can only imagine the disappointment he would feel.
For more information onThe Criticand the film festival, visitthe TIFF website.
