Taglines: Ambition seduces, power corrupts.
The Critic movie storyline. Set in 1930s London, revolves around a feared theatre critic named Jimmy Erskine, his loyal assistant, a newspaper owner who wants to get rid of the critic and an actress who has been devastated by the excoriating theatrical reviews. The critic’s determination to survive ensures that the other characters are caught in a web of blackmail, deceit and murder.
The reimagining of Anthony Quinn’s novel ‘Curtain Call’ centers on Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen), the Daily Chronicle’s most famous and feared theatre critic of the age; David Brooke (Mark Strong), with whom he clashes after recently inheriting the paper; and a young actress, Nina Land (Gemma Arterton) who is devastated by Jimmy’s recent negative review of her. As the three become entangled in a whodunnit wrapped in a Faustian pact, their strange triangle winds tighter and tighter to devastating effect for all those caught in the deadly web of blackmail and betrayal.
The Critic is a 2023 British period thriller film directed by Anand Tucker and written by Patrick Marber, based on the 2015 novel Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2023.
Directed by: Anand Tucker
Starring: Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Romola Garai, Ben Barnes, Alfred Enoch, Nikesh Patel, Jay Simpson, Claire Skinner, Rebecca Gethings
Screenplay by: Patrick Marber
Production Design by: Lucienne Suren
Cinematography by: David Higgs
Film Editing by: Beverley Mills
Costume Design by: Claire Finlay-Thompson
Set Decoration by: Amanda George
Art Direction by: Eléonore Cremonese, May Davies, Rosalind Grégoire, Aline Leonello
Music by: Craig Armstrong
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: September 7, 2023 (TIFF), September 13, 2024
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