Top 200 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2023: #167. Anand Tucker’s The Critic

The Critic

After moonlighting as a producer and working in television, Anand Tucker‘s returns to feature films a dozen years after his last feature film in the studio romance Leap Year (2010) featuring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. Best known for Hilary and Jackie (1998) and the critically acclaimed Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009), Tucker lassoed Ben Barnes, Lesley Manville, Mark Strong, Ian McKellen, Alfred Enoch and Romola Garai for a set in 1930’s London period drama. Formerly going by the book’s title of “Curtain Call,” this is adapted from Anthony Quinn’s novel and contains blackmail and intrigue vibes.

Gist: This revolves around a feared theater critic named Jimmy Erskine (McKellen), his loyal assistant, a newspaper owner who wants to get rid of the critic and an actress (Arterton) 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.

Release Date/Prediction: A TIFF and London BFI premiere might be in the works.