_{By: Amanda Guarragi}

When it comes to criticism, many people are affected by the judgement. It’s not only how people look at others but how they look at themselves. When someone says, “You are your own worst critic,” it’s the truth, and the phrase can prompt you into doing something out of the ordinary. Ultimately, criticism isn’t just an analysis of a subject. It comes down to the word choice and delivery of expression that can affect anyone. Whether the criticism is good or bad, the words used can change the course of one’s life. In 1930s London, a revered theatre critic named Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen) and his loyal editor (Alfred Enoch) tried to keep Erskine’s job at the newspaper after a change in leadership. The new owner, David Brooke (Mark Strong), gives Erskine multiple chances to ease up on his attacks toward actress Nina Land (Gemma Arterton). The Critic is a seductive whoddunit with a sharp script by Patrick Marber and pointed direction by Anand Tucker.

Tucker’s direction is crafty because he constructs the theatre as the central focus for his characters. He makes Nina Land’s plays to thread his characters together as they sit in the audience. Strong, McKellen and Ben Barnes, who plays Stephen Wyley, are all there for Land for different reasons. As the story unfolds, there is commentary on criticism and how everyone can be affected. Not only through selling newspapers or ruining someone’s career but more on how these people will be remembered. Without Erskine’s harsh words describing Land’s performances, no one else could have pushed her to do better. A critic and a performer go hand in hand in the industry, and one cannot work without the other. So when Land and Erskine come together, the pair have a tussle with fame, ambition and power, debating another’s downfall. 

Erskine is the definitive critic and knows how to manipulate those around him. Not only is he a talented writer, but he uses his knowledge of plays and previous works to blackmail others when he needs to secure his position. Erskine struggles with public opinion in his own life, even though he lives in the shadows without anyone getting to know him apart from his loyal editor. In the third act, Tucker shows the destruction of Erskine’s mind because of how far he pushes himself to save his career. Even the cinematography by David Higgs moves from a dreamlike atmosphere early in the film to a darker, bleak reality surrounding them. The atmosphere becomes more harsh in the end, which parallels what’s happening in Erskine’s mind. No amount of reviews will prepare audiences for the downward spiral this film takes them on because it truly is surprising where the characters end up. 

The Critic will surprise many because of the twists in the story and how Higgs places the audience in a trance early on. The story begins with a critic who is at the top of his career, loved by all because of his bluntness with his writing. But soon turns into a nightmare scenario once he loses himself in fighting to get what he wants. McKellen has always given incredible performances, but this will become a favourite for many because of how fun of a character he plays. Even though Erskine is a tough critic, he is still likeable until he’s not. Arterton is the heart of this film, and her character of Nina Land is the connective tissue for all the men who have become infatuated with her. Marber and Quinn’s script is structured well because of the seeds planted in the first act with Erskine and the newspaper. Tucker explores the extent people will go to protect themselves and their legacy.