Legendary director Steven Soderbergh and veteran writer Ed Solomon team up for a second feature film. This time, they make a London-set comedy-drama.
Lori Butler (Michaela Coel) is an art restorer who receives an unexpected offer from an old friend at art school. Sallie Sklar (Jessica Gunning) and her brother, Barnaby (James Corden), want Lori to work as their father’s assistant and complete his unfinished portraits known as “The Christophers.” Lori soon has a tense working relationship with the famous artist Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen).
Soderbergh has had a varied career as a filmmaker. His filmography has included award contenders (Erin Brockovich, Traffic), mainstream hits (The Ocean’s series), ensemble pieces (Contagion), and experimental films (The Good German, The Girlfriend Experience). He has made a large number of films because he’s able to work effectively while usually maintaining a high standard.
The Christophers received excellent critical reception, and it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It had been picked up for distribution by Neon in the US and Canada, and Picturehouse Entertainment in the UK. It was a film that had a lot of prestige. Sadly, The Christophers turned out to be an underwhelming experience.
The Christophers had a fantastic cast. It’s hard to go wrong with the legendary Sir Ian McKellen, and Michaela Coel has earned acclaim for her TV work. They were the best feature of the film. They were effortlessly in the lead roles as they verbally sparred with each other. Their dynamic shifted as the film progressed since Julian was the dominating personality who wouldn’t let Lori speak, but eventually she was able to hold her own against the elderly artist. Julian started as a gruff recluse whom Lori slowly smoothed out his hard edges. The other reason why the dynamic shifted was due to both characters underestimated each other. This forced Lori to change her plans multiple times and even changed her goal.
There were some interesting ideas in the film. It explored the relationship between an artist and their art. It’s meant to be personal, and at times painful. The best scene in the film was when Julian started painting. He went through a gamut of emotions because he relived every experience related to his work. McKellen brought out every emotion during this scene. Julian and Lori discussed what gave art meaning, and Lori inferred Julian’s relationship with Christopher through the evolution of his portrait series. People who value art will support the message, so it’s a shame that Soderbergh is going to use generative AI in his next film.
Despite The Christophers being about a visual medium, the film came across more as a stage play. There were only four main characters, and most of the film was about Julian and Lori’s verbal exchanges. It was a dialogue-heavy film that was set mostly in Julian’s house. It was a tedious experience with the actors being the ones who brought any life to the film. Whilst McKellen and Coel were brilliant, even they struggled getting much humour out of the script.
The Christophers was a film that got the most out of its cast, but it was a sadly disappointing experience that has been overhyped by critics.
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