The Arts Fuse Newsletter, September 25
Reviews of "The Substance," "Leopoldstadt," PJ Harvey, " Library Lion," "We Solve Murders," and a homage to literary critic Joan Acocella
From The Editor's Desk:
As an aficionado of all things arts critical, I was overjoyed I see The Critic, a film in which Ian McKellen stars as Jimmy Erskine, an egomaniacal ‘30s theater reviewer who is partly modeled on the BBC/ Sunday Times’ stage reviewer James Agate (1877-1947). As the title’s waspish concoction, McKellen is dashingly crumpled and cranky, but the actor is mired in a mystery-thriller that, about mid-way through, morphs into the kind of mildewed hooey Agate and Erskine would have wanted disinfected. It is unfortunate that screenwriter/playwright Patrick Marber didn’t draw more on the outsized personality and theatrical persona of Agate who, in the words of biographer James Harding, was the “archetypal ‘man about town,’ wit, spendthrift, homosexual, eccentric, gossip-monger.” Erskine is extremely selfish, isolated, and unaccountably self-destructive. Harding describes non-stop partygoer Agate as a “riotous mixture of egotism and thoughtfulness, bravado and humility, ostentation and reserve, meanness and generosity. In his will he even remembered his favorite rent boys.”
In American movies, critics are usually male and swing between two stereotypical extremes. There are the power mad brutes, such as the homicidal Erskine, George Sanders’ suavely acidic Addison DeWitt (modeled after George Jean Nathan) in All About Eve, and the intractable restaurant critic, Anton Ego, in Ratatouille. Then there are the nicer reviewers, capable of reclaiming their humanity, such as Bob Hope’s Parker Ballantine in Critics’ Choice and David Niven in Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, both inspired by NYTimes critic Walter Kerr. Most of those who have commented on The Critic have stuck to these overused examples. For those interested in venturing out of this round-up, I would recommend Ole Roos’s 1977 film Havoc, an adaption of Tom Kristensen’s masterful 1930 novel of the same name. It chronicles the decline and fall (into vats of alcohol) of a promising young book critic who rejects the soul-crushing compromises, ideological and commercial, demanded by his newspaper.
Another man often ignored in discussions of critics in film is Ellsworth Toohey, the rabid architecture critic in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. Robert Douglas, as Toohey, oozes vulpine hypocrisy in the movie version of the novel. This two-faced critic is a self-proclaimed “socialist” who proclaims his loyalty to aesthetic standards. But he is really dedicated to fighting innovative art, creations that smack of individual genius. Toohey champions — through unceasing praise and hype — mediocrity that appeals to the masses, product that is profitable for corporate media and the homogenized culture it fosters for political reasons. Given the prevalence of ‘happy talk’ in today’s critical circles, the example of Toohey may cut too close to the bone.
—Bill Marx, Editor-in-Chief
Note: From the Editor's Desk -- By Popular Demand.
Readers have asked that I post these weekly opinion pieces in the magazine — request granted.
Film Review: “The Substance” — The Beauty Trap
By Nicole Veneto
The Substance is the most insane midnight movie you’ll see in a multiplex in 2024. Needless to say, I loved it.
PJ Harvey at MGM Fenway — A Combo of Choreographed Play and Edgy Rock Show
By Paul Robicheau
Many of PJ Harvey’s fans at MGM came for a challenging ride, and the performer gave it to them with a stunning show.
Theater Review: “Leopoldstadt” — Bearing Witness
By Bill Marx
This is one of Tom Stoppard’s most heartfelt and expansive works, its poignant storyline inspired by events in his own life. The gamesmanship that mars some of the dramatist’s other scripts gives way to a sense of history writ large.
Children’s Theater Review: A Rip-Roaring “Library Lion”
By Joan Lancourt
“Library Lion,” wonderfully staged by Adam Theater, marks the arrival of a new and welcome addition to the Boston theater scene.
Book Review: “We Solve Murders” — A Slight Whodunit
By Clea Simon
This novel is a fun, light read. But bestselling author Richard Osman needs to take more time to delve into his characters if he wants to equal his previous cozy mysteries.
Book Reviews: Joan Acocella and Andrea Marcolongo — Writers Who Think Fearlessly
By Roberta Silman
Joan Acocella is more than a critic. She is a thinker, writing at a time when thinkers are not valued much, when exegesis in places other than scholarly journals sometimes seems like a lost art.
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Questions, comments, concerns?
Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marx
wmarx103@gmail.com
