The Critic (2024)
Directed by: Anand Tucker
Premise: Set in 1934 London, a theater critic (Ian McKellen) fights to keep his job following a change in leadership at his newspaper. The critic uses his connections in the theater to blackmail the newspaper owner (Mark Strong).
What Works: The Critic is a drama about ambition and corruption. The picture possesses an interesting visual tension. It is frequently beautiful. Much of The Critic is shot with a hazy amber tint and lots of shadows. At the same time, the images have a seedy visual texture. The air is full of cigarette smoke, the lighting catches the details of the actor’s bodies, and the filmmakers often use extreme close ups in ways that suggest intimacy but also power relationships. The characters of The Critic are complicated and the story goes in unexpected directions. The story sets up the titular character as a reluctant hero. The newspaper leadership has changed and the critic’s job is on the line. Were The Critic a more conventional film it would be about a brave writer asserting his integrity and voice against villainous business interests. It starts that way but the story goes off in unexpected directions. The writer takes a stage actress (Gemma Arterton) under his wing and while he does give her constructive advice the drama critic also leverages his power in ways that are unethical and eventually immoral. The film has an atmosphere of danger but also tragedy as characters compromise themselves. Ian McKellen is terrific in the title role, delivering droll dialogue and using his charm to manipulate the audience’s sympathies. That’s also true of Mark Strong but in an inverse way; he is off putting at first but gradually becomes sympathetic. Gemma Arterton is also quite good as the stage actress weighing her integrity against her ambitions.
What Doesn’t: The Critic is centered on the triangular relationship between the writer, the actress, and the newspaper publisher. This relationship is resolved but the story keeps going, looping in the critic’s assistant (Alfred Enoch) who has been occupying the background of the story but only at the very end becomes an active player in the action. The film would have benefited from bringing the assistant forward and making him a more integral part of the story. The Critic ends abruptly. It sets up a new idea with the assistant making a character defining choice but the film doesn’t deal meaningfully with the consequences of that choice. The assistant is an aspiring drama critic himself and so the film associates moral implications with the act of criticism itself but because the assistant is marginalized this idea is underdeveloped.
Bottom Line: The Critic is a surprising period thriller. Despite coming up short in its truncated ending, the film plays cleverly on audience expectations and the characters are complex and compromised in ways that are engaging. This is a compelling moral drama that is well produced.
Episode: #1014 (September 22, 2024)