The Christophers
Aspiring artist Lori Butler (Michaela Coel, TV's 'I May Destroy You') wears several hats to make ends meet. One day as she's manning a food truck, she gets a phone call that will change her life. Old college art school classmate Sallie (Jessica Gunning, TV's 'Baby Reindeer') and her brother Barnaby (James Corden) engage her in their scheme to ensure an inheritance from their famous artist dad Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) by getting her to secure and finish a series of paintings he has stubbornly refused to sell or exhibit, paintings known as "The Christophers."
Laura's Review: A-
Working with a script from Ed Solomon than leans on the twisty trickery of his "Now You See Me" movies while exploring the fraught emotions of
an artistic mentorship gone awry, director/cinematographer/editor Steven Soderbergh delivers his best film since "Traffic." Casting Coel and McKellen was inspired, two actors of different generations and backgrounds who are simply dazzling paired together.
The film begins with a bit of character defining sleight of hand as we see Lori sketching on a bench, then jumping up and entering a food truck when a customer appears at its window. At a pub later, the Sklar siblings will tell her their elderly father has a rare blood disease, little time left and has been looking for someone to catalog his art, the opening to get Lori in. We'll also learn Lori has the proven ability to mimic his work as well as a reason to hate him.
Lori and Julian's initial meeting is comical, the eccentric artist always commanding a guest enter his terrace house by the door opposite the one they're at. After wandering through several floors, Lori finds the man sitting in front of a ring light in his bathrobe, recording messages for 149 pounds (249, he tells her, if he 'signs' it at the end with a finger flourish). Chattering away, he decides she must be neither a fan nor an artist, then declares his bisexuality, but when her interview turns to actual duties, Sklar immediately brings up the Christophers, saying his children are obsessed with wanting to know if they'll be left to them and that he wants her to shred them. She'll find the paintings under a tarp in an old bathtub before Julian ups his game, insisting now that she burn them in his presence.
One has to wonder just how much of McKellen's dialogue was on the page as the actor is hilarious reeling off lines like 'I was once in a throuple back when it was merely called infidelity,' 'Never underestimate the Internet prowess of a man who spent decades Googling himself' and 'These Christophers will live in the pantheon of the worst art of all time along with 'Dogs Playing Poker,' Velvet Elvis and all of Warhol.' The man is impishly delightful, always trying to get a rise out of his audience, whether with provocative statements or bathrobe slippage. As that audience, Coel has an arc that goes from a whisper to a roar, at least a metaphorical one, with a pinpoint analysis of Sklar's work which had eluded art critics. While there are a number of mysteries inherent in Solomon's script - why is Julian so adamant about destroying this series? will Lori follow through on Sallie and Barnaby's mission? Why do they 'know' that Lori hates their father? - the film is really about the circuitous dance between Lori and Julian, one which goes to some unexpected places. The film becoming incredibly moving in its last act and art and the two main characters' relationship to it leads to several emotional breakthroughs. And while the film is often funny, Gunning and Corden are overly cartoonish in their conniving greed, the film's only flaw.
This is the second movie in a row Soderbergh's shot in London, but like his "Black Bag" before it, avoids tourist locations, most of the action taking place in Sklar's overstuffed terrace house with a few sojourns to Lori's communal art space. Old newspaper articles, video and blog postings provide historical background on both artists and their relationship. The artworks themselves, old and new alike (Sallie's pitiful stab at a Christopher excepted), all have the same source of inspiration. "The Christophers" may be a small film, but McKellen and Coel make its emotional impact huge.
Robin's Review: B+
Neon releases "The Christophers" in select theaters on 4/10/26, expanding on 4/17/26.
