An all-star cast lead this wickedly mischievous reimagining of Anthony Quinn’s novel Curtain Call. The year is 1936. As the new steward of London’s Daily Chronicle, David Brooke (the always superb Mark Strong) seeks to revive the financially troubled newspaper. Enter Jimmy Erskine (a brilliant Sir Ian McKellen) the Daily Chronicle’s most famous and feared theatre critic of the age and a young actress, Nina Land (the sublime Gemma Arterton) who is devastated by Jimmy’s recent negative review of her performance.
Whilst the three may have little in common at first, things change as WWII looms with fascism on the rise, the three become entangled in a whodunnit entering a devilish pact as their strange triangle of deception weaves tighter, culminating in a devastatingly deadly web of blackmail and betrayal. Treading the boards with a scintillating tale of ambition and deceit, The Critic brims with five-star intrigue propelled by a killer cast offering a cunning reminder that the pen is truly mightier than the sword.
Official Selection – Toronto Film Festival 2023
"McKellen, who relishes another devious character to sink his teeth into, devouring every scene, a deliciously caustic turn that will provide him with nothing but the finest notices"
- The Guardian
Wednesday 1st November
95 min
M
Mark Strong, Gemma Arterton, Lesley Manville, Alfred Enoch, Romola Garai, Ben Barnes, Ian McKellen
Anand Tucker
Film Festival
English
Palace Norton St
