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| “ | He who lives in fear dies of shame. | „ |
| ~ Erskine's defiance to the fascists sects in London. |
Jimmy Erskine is the main protagonist of the 2023 period thriller film The Critic.
Erskine is a theatre critic for The Daily Chronicle, a right-wing newspaper. After becoming enraptured in scandal, Erskine loses his job and devises a scheme to regain it.
He was portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen, who has played numerous roles on stage and in film, including Magneto in the X-Men film franchise, The Toad in Flushed Away, Horatio P. Huntington in Animal Crackers, Kurt Dussander in Apt Pupil, Roy Courtnay in The Good Liar, Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code and the title character in the 1995 film adaptation of Richard III.
Physical Appearance[]
Erskine is an elder, Caucasian gentleman. He dresses well in typical attire for 1930s London. He is tall and thin.
Personality[]
Erskine is a bitter individual. He speaks with a complex and often sarcastically cutting vocabulary.
He is a fond admirer of the theatre, having seen many productions. His dry and negative reviews developed his reputation and became synonymous with his reviews.
Biography[]
Background[]
As a young boy, Erskine attended many stage plays, including one featuring Oscar Wilde. Erskine was attracted to Wilde. As he aged, Erskine was employed as a theatre critic for a right-wing publication. He developed a bitter attitude to the plays he saw and frequently gave scathing, yet comical reviews.
In the late 1920s, Erskine hired a young boy, Thomas, as his secretary. The pair developed a sexual relationship and cohabited together in London.
The Critic (2023)[]
In 1934, Erskine attends a show with Thomas which is received negatively by its audience. Erskine admonishes the play in his review, with a focus on young actress Nina Land. Land grows frustrated with Erskine, who has frequently written negative reviews of her. On the encouragement of her mother, she confronts Erskine to discover why he dislikes her performances. She also reveals that his reviews are often contradictory.
Erskine reveals that he writes the way he does as it appeals to readers. One evening, Erskine and Thomas drink together and are confronted by fascists on the street. They taunt Thomas and Erskine and threaten them, causing them to leave. Erskine and Thomas kiss, where they are discovered by the police and arrested. To evade imprisonment, Erskine’s lawyer has him released by contacting the editor of Erskine’s paper to speak with the police. In light of the scandal, Erskine is then fired.
To get his job back, Erskine asks Nina to have sex with the editor. She reluctantly does so, after which Erskine arrives and threatens that she will sue him for rape. After providing this information, Erskine receives his job back at a higher pay. The editor learns of Erskine’s plot and kills himself after realising that Nina did not love him as she claimed.
Erskine remains largely unaffected by this, whilst Nina is wracked by guilt and drinks heavily. She arrives at Erskine’s residence and claims she will go to the press. Afraid of this, Erskine drowns her and makes her death appear a suicide. Thomas goes to the police and tells them of Erskine’s plot, where he is arrested - his job now being taken over by Thomas.