Film Review: THE CHRISTOPHERS (2025): Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel Shine in Steven Soderbergh’s Best Film in Over 25 Years
The Christophers Review
The Christophers (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Ed Solomon and starring Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, James Corden, Daniel Fearn and Le Fil.
Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is back at the top of his game with a real winner with his clever dramatic new movie, The Christophers. This is the type of well-oiled machine that Soderbergh used to make at his peak. Soderbergh’s great list of movies includes Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Erin Brockovich and Traffic. This new picture is pretty much on that level thanks to the fantastic performances by the two leads here, Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel. McKellen hasn’t been this great in years while Michaela Coel is a revelation with a performance that will hit the viewer like a sledgehammer thanks to its quiet intensity.
McKellen serves as Julian Sklar, a famous artist who has a collection of unfinished work that is known collectively as “The Christophers;” hence the movie’s title. Julian’s kids, Sallie (Jessica Gunning) and Barnaby (James Corden), have ideas on how to get the paintings finished and they enlist an artist named Lori Butler (Coel) to help them forge what is necessary to grant the kids some major financial compensation when Julian bites the dust. Lori had been ridiculed by Julian in the past for her own art on a reality show and she is all too eager to do what is expected of her by the kids. Well, at first, anyway.
When Lori and Julian meet again, she is about to be employed as Julian’s assistant. Soon, they begin to (excuse the use of the word) “forge” a bond that rests mostly on how they can help one another through their interaction. Set mostly in Julian’s apartment, this movie knows art and how it is perceived in culture and by those who don’t know it as well as the experts do.
Coel is the biggest surprise of The Christophers. She owns this role with tremendous confidence on display in terms of the dignified way Coel plays Lori. Soderbergh throws in many plot twists here as Lori is forced to decide between catering to the needs of the kids who offer her financial stability and her own morals and principals which shape her integrity as an artist. Right at the beginning, Julian gets too personal with the questions he asks Lori and she responds in an earnest and very responsive way that rightfully protects her from having her privacy invaded.
Ian McKellen is the main reason The Christophers is a near-perfect movie because the actor hasn’t been this great in quite some time, as previously stated. He plays the role as the quintessential artist who knows that whatever he puts his heart and effort into will be received well not only because of his talent, but also, in part, due to his own big ego. McKellen relishes in the role the same way Sean Connery did as the recluse writer in 2000’s Finding Forrester.
Soderbergh beautifully crafts his delicate scenes between Lori and Julian. There’s a true passion for actors and their craft that Soderbergh seems to have a solid grasp of. While the camera lets the two main actors interact, the performances come to life in a real way that feels more than just authentic. It is also so very easy to be brought into the complexities of the art world because of the intelligence McKellen and Coel project on-screen in juxtaposition to the art landscapes they discuss in full detail.
It is the supporting characters played by Gunning and Corden that help build the major plot developments of this film. If their characters want Lori to act a certain way, she may just. Lori could be motivated by her financial desires or her artistic ones, and we never know which way she’ll turn next. Since we don’t know the details of how Lori was wronged by Julian right from the outset, we don’t know who her loyalty will steer towards. Lori and Julian do form a real bond by the picture’s conclusion in which Julian may just realize his selfishness and come to terms with his failure to recognize true talent.
The Christophers is a true work of cinematic art. Julian has much wisdom to share with Lori and she, as a result, learns a great deal from him. At the same time, Julian realizes the realities of the art world which he always knew but never liked to admit. Lori develops before our eyes as a strong female character who realizes the way of the world and how art factors into it, for better or worse. When Lori makes her decisions within the film, they are carefully constructed and realistically portrayed.
Soderbergh is really able to capture the fascinating nature of human interaction by the scenes showcasing just McKellen and Coel who play off each other with masterful precision that gives them the necessary challenges as performers to excel. These are the best roles of these two stars’ recent careers.
McKellen is definitely Oscar-nomination worthy for his brilliant portrayal of a wise artist who is always one step ahead of himself. Coel is sufficiently up to the task of keeping up with McKellen’s particular quirks and terrific line delivery. Under Soderbergh’s capable direction, the performances are simply excellent while the smart screenplay shines and rises above the pitfalls that it could have faced. The Christophers makes one question the real value of art to both the artist and to the public. Could Julian’s work be worth more when he dies than it’s worth while he’s alive? Isn’t that the way the stories of artists typically play out?
Rating: 9/10
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