Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve has ably demonstrated that a catty feud between theater critics and actresses is crackling subject matter for witty, adult entertainment. Anand Tucker’s The Critic follows a similar premise and, auspiciously, recruited playwright Patrick Marber––a well-known luminary of the British theater scene––to pen a script packed with sharp, acerbic dialog. This, still, is not half-enough. In its quest to surprise audiences, The Critic jumps down too many rabbit holes, progressively losing all semblance of plausibility or insight it might’ve otherwise yielded.
The film is being billed as an adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s well-regarded novel Curtain Call, though one glance at the book summary indicates that significant liberties have been taken––notably, a murder-mystery strand has been entirely jettisoned. What we have instead is an interpersonal drama between several personalities either directly or tangentially related to the theater. Chief among...
The film is being billed as an adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s well-regarded novel Curtain Call, though one glance at the book summary indicates that significant liberties have been taken––notably, a murder-mystery strand has been entirely jettisoned. What we have instead is an interpersonal drama between several personalities either directly or tangentially related to the theater. Chief among...
- 9/22/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Ian McKellen (The Good Liar), Gemma Arterton (Summerland) and Mark Strong (1917) will lead the cast of The Critic, a period thriller based on Anthony Quinn’s classic novel Curtain Call. Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), BAFTA nominee Romola Garai (Suffragette), Ben Barnes (Westworld) and Alfred Enoch (Foundation) will also star.
In the film set in 1934 London, McKellen plays Jimmy Erskine, the most feared drama critic in town—with Arterton as Nina Land, the actress determined to win his favor. When Jimmy finds himself in the crosshairs of his newspaper’s new owner, David Brooke (Strong), Nina becomes entangled in a dangerous web of blackmail, deceit and murder.
Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie) is directing from a script by Oscar nominee Patrick Marber (Notes on a Scandal), with production underway in and around London. The film is being fully financed and produced by London-based BKStudios, with owner Bill Kenwright...
In the film set in 1934 London, McKellen plays Jimmy Erskine, the most feared drama critic in town—with Arterton as Nina Land, the actress determined to win his favor. When Jimmy finds himself in the crosshairs of his newspaper’s new owner, David Brooke (Strong), Nina becomes entangled in a dangerous web of blackmail, deceit and murder.
Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie) is directing from a script by Oscar nominee Patrick Marber (Notes on a Scandal), with production underway in and around London. The film is being fully financed and produced by London-based BKStudios, with owner Bill Kenwright...
- 6/27/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
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