THE CRITIC is a deliciously dark and sharp-witted thriller set in 1930s London featuring an all-star British cast including Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Ben Barnes, Alfred Enoch, Romola Garai and Lesley Manville.

When the most feared and vicious theatre critic in town Jimmy Erskine (McKellen), finds himself suddenly in the cross hairs of the Daily Chronicle’s new owner David Brooke (Strong), he strikes a sinister Faustian pact with struggling actress Nina Land (Arterton) who is desperate to win his favour.

A rare chance to experience this classic of New Hollywood, which pierces straight to the heart of American darkness, on the big screen for its 50th anniversary.

Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson smoulder against the backdrop of late 1930s Los Angeles, depicted as a hotbed of corruption in a narrative firmly grounded in historical reality. Robert Towne was a central screenwriter at the heart of the New Hollywood’s sharp socially-alert scripts. He was tuned into the dramatic cultural changes going on in America and could pull together tightly plotted cinematic stories with authentic dialogue.