Review: Steven Soderbergh Lets Ian McKellen & Michaela Coel Shine In THE CHRISTOPHERS

No other living American film director plays with the art-form quite like Steven Soderbergh. Throughout his career, he has always pushed boundaries, discovering something new to do with technique or technology. The talking head confessionals from Sex, Lies And Videotape, his early adoption of digital with Full Frontal, using black and white and Academy Ratio for The Good German – even shooting on an iPhone for High Flying Bird are just a few ways in which Soderbergh introduces fresh ways to tell his stories. 

The Christophers is more traditional, but the film – part of his London period (along with Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Black Bag) – feels like Soderbergh adapting a stage-play for the screen. But it’s not. The Christophers is an original screenplay by Ed Solomon, although it does feel like it was written for the stage – and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see it translated to that medium in the next few years. What Soderbergh does here is play with space and location, building a womb around the relationship between the two central characters, allowing it to grow. 

Ian McKellen is Julian Sklar, a well-regarded artist who has put down his brush and now spends his time recording Cameo videos for fans. His estranged children, (Jessica Gunning and James Corden) are worried that they will get little inheritance, so they hire a forger (Michaela Coel) to complete a series of unfinished works called The Christophers. These are deeply personal pieces for Julian and they have been banished to the top floor of his sprawling London home, as a way of ignoring his past. 

Julian is sceptical of Lori’s intentions, immediately sensing that she’s been sent by his offspring. They spar back and forth, offering push-pull in a relationship that they don’t necessarily want, but ultimately need. The trailer would have you believe that The Christophers is a thriller, but this is a pointed darkly comedic character piece about flawed characters who hate themselves as much as those around them. They begrudgingly form a symbiotic friendship and the film is less about the art and more about the artists. 

The Christophers features impressive interplay between Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel and the pair have a good dynamic. Apparently, the screenplay was written specifically for them and it really plays to their strengths as actors. McKellen has been playing variations of this character for years now and he’s great, anchoring the film with his curmudgeonly charm. As someone who can’t stand James Corden, I was worried that his presence would be the one ingredient that would throw off the balance here, but Soderbergh uses him well. He’s actually quite good at playing a smarmy sycophant. 

Longtime Soderbergh collaborator, David Holmes’ music underscores the action, delivering smooth sonic notes. Much like Soderbergh’s own cinematography (under the pseudonym Peter Andrews), it’s low-key and subtle, drawing you into the performances rather than punctuating it. Soderbergh is pulling back here, letting McKellen and Coel shine.

The set-up leads you to believe that here will be narrative fireworks and explosive revelations, but these don’t come. It’s a film about artists trying to keep their art at arms length – avoiding its pull because it reveals too much about who they really are. It’s not that they are worried about revealing this to others  – Julian and Lori don’t want to show themselves who they really are.  

It may not be as crowd-pleasing as Ocean’s 11, as experimental as Schizopolis or as brash as Magic Mike, but The Christophers is yet another intriguing entry into Steven Soderbergh’s wonderfully varied filmography. Soderbergh constantly plays with the form of film and the expectations of his audience, always working to deliver something worthwhile, even if it’s not necessarily for everyone. The Christophers might be something of an acquired taste, but it’s undoubtedly the work of a master-craftsman.