Sir Ian McKellen stars as gay film critic in new drama

Sir Ian McKellen will be on the big screen once again but this time he will be playing a gay film critic from the 1930s.

McKellen is starring as Jimmy Erskine in The Critic, which was released in the UK last Friday (September 13), after first premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023.

The Critic sees a “powerful London theatre critic”, played by McKellen, luring “a struggling actress (Gemma Arterton) into a blackmail scheme that has deadly consequences”, according to the official synopsis.

Not only is the movie steeped in intrigue, it is also a win for gay representation as Erskine is a closeted gay man who cruises parks at night for sex and also employs his young lover Tom – played by How To Get Away With Murder actor Alfred Enoch – as his secretary. Though his sexuality appears to be known by many, and ignored due to his fearsome reputation, there is still a fear that he will be caught and ruined as a result.

In fact, the aforementioned blackmail scheme is a direct result of Erskine’s sexuality as he is arrested for public indecency and decides that blackmail is the only way to get himself out of trouble. He will ruthlessly hold on to his position and reputation no matter what.

It’s not necessarily a character or an attitude that McKellen understands but that’s what he likes most about playing Erskine.

Speaking to HuffPost, McKellen said: “What I basically enjoy about acting is not being myself. That’s what I enjoy, and that’s how I judge myself. ‘Would I be able to get inside this person that doesn’t feel like me?'”

“And then you discover, of course, that you’ve got some things in common with whoever you play, however horrible they may be. I can imagine what it’s like to behave badly, although I try not to behave badly in real life.”

But, despite not being so ruthless himself, it was “easy enough” to get into character both because McKellen was able to draw inspiration from the critics he has encountered in life and because of Erskine’s sexuality – something that McKellen understands because he is also gay.

Erskine being a gay character also gives an insight into his character. McKellen previously told NPR that Erskine’s savagery is because he was gay “at a time when it was against the law for two men to make love”.

McKellen himself knows a little about being in the closet, saying that he wasn’t completely open about his sexuality before coming out as gay in 1988.

“You were kept quiet by the fact that your nature, God-given you could say, was against the law. If you spend your life being ill treated by the laws of the land and by other people’s attitudes to your sexuality, is it any surprise that perhaps when it’s possible, you take revenge on others?”

He reiterated this point in his interview with HuffPost, adding that gay people “were being bullied by the state” in the 30s and that “scars [Erskine’s] spirit”.

“So, when he thinks he needs to defend himself, to hold onto the job that he loves so much, he does it in a bullying fashion, which reflects the spirit with which the laws of the land have been bullying him,” McKellen said.

While The Critic is set nearly 100 years ago, some of it might resonate with people within the LGBTQ+ community today as the rights they have are relatively new. McKellen said that it’s “important that people understand how much things have improved” but added that “the fight goes on” for equality for all LGBTQ+ people.