With themes of theatre life and war, the new films The Critic and Lee echo the roles played by the Birmingham Rep and the Hall of Memory in Broad Street’s Centenary Square.
As for this week’s third big release, Speak No Evil, it’s a standalone silver screen fantasy. And with up to 28 collective daily screenings of all three films across our two brilliant, 12-screen multiplexes – Cineworld Broad Street and Odeon Luxe Broadway Plaza – there are plenty of combinations available for film fans to see them all on the same day.
Lee (15, 117 mins). Now 48, Titanic star Kate Winslet uses her maturing voice to best effect as a real-life American model turned photographer and war correspondent. This decade-long biopic explores Concentration camp horrors.
The verdict: *** Long before wordsmith Kate Adie, there was Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller who wanted Vogue to publish her indelible images of war. Here, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind cinematographer Ellen Kuras makes her (steady) directorial debut with Pawel Edelman behind the camera, as per Roman Polanski’s The Pianist (2002).
Just like Sir Ian McKellen in The Critic below, it’s Winslet’s more calibrated performance that aims to deliver the most value beyond the dot-to-dot nature of the story.
The Critic (15, 101 mins). A leading 1930s London theatre critic nefariously protects his career by any means necessary. Gemma Arterton, Lesley Manville and Ben Barnes co-star with Sir Ian McKellen excelling as Jimmy Erskine. Based on Anthony Quinn’s 2015 novel Curtain Call, it’s directed by Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie).
The verdict: *** Interviewing theatre legend Sir Ian McKellen at the Grand Hotel in April 1996 for his then new movie Richard III wasn’t just a privilege – it was the shared excitement that he wanted to do more films.
An Oscar nomination for Gods and Monsters (1998) followed, but most of his subsequent film time was spent solidifying blockbuster franchises from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (Gandalf) to X-Men (Erik Lensherr / Magneto) with ten episodes of Coronation Street (2005) thrown in.
The Critic is a reminder that Sir Ian is a rare beast, both a genuine screen star and character actor who could entertain indigenous people by verbalising sauce bottle ingredients.
Here, the story drags whenever Sir Ian isn’t menacingly manipulating a struggling actress for his own ends at The Daily Chronicle, especially as the cinematography seems too be too heavily filtered. And former Bond girl Arterton doesn’t fare that well opposite Sir Ian.
But even at 85, the brilliant Sir Ian certainly makes The Critic well worth seeking out, although you’ll be hoping for more substance overall.
Speak No Evil (15, 110 mins). James McAvoy stars in this Blumhouse remake of a 2022 Danish horror. A couple on holiday invite a similar family to stay at their remote country home where social satire and terror await in equal measure. James Watkins (The Woman in Black) directs.
The verdict: **** Speak No Evil begins as a holiday abroad drama with surprisingly excellent comedy value before morphing into something far more sinister back in Blighty. It’s a hugely entertaining, psychological joyride through our own prejudices and preconceptions. It’s ideal for anyone who a) enjoys mischief and b) hasn’t seen the Scandi original.
Now aged 45, Glasgow-born McAvoy was an actor of tremendous promise two decades ago with movies like Inside I’m Dancing, The Last King of Scotland, Starter for Ten and Atonement. After his own unnecessary X-Men detour as Charles Xavier, this is McAvoy’s best work since Glass (2019).
There’s fine support from Aisling Franciosi as partner Ciara as well as Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy as visiting couple Louise and Ben Dalton. Child actors Alix West Lefler (Agnes) and Dan Hough (Ant) are especially good for the genre.
Speak No Evil’s climactic horror potential has been diluted to a 15 certificate, but even the peerless Jack Nicholson would be impressed with the dynamic range of McAvoy’s performance. He’d also like the Scot’s clever nod to Nicholson’s own Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). Enjoy!
Picture credits: Lee, Sky Originals; The Critic, Lionsgate; Speak No Evil, Universal.
ENDS
