Dan Skip Allen 

I’ve seen a handful of films revolving around art or painting of some kind. “Pollock” “At Eternity’s Gate”  “Mr. Turner”, “”Big Eyes” and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” are a handful of the movies about this topic that I’ve seen. This is a small genre of movie that focuses on a specific thing. This thing isn’t for everybody and so these types of films aren’t exactly for everybody either. The newest movie in this small genre is “The Christophers”. This film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and was acquired by NEON after its premier. It was well received, and I can honestly say I know the reason why. It has amazing chemistry between its two stars.

Lori (Micheala Coel) is an aspiring painter, but she works in a food truck as a stop gap measure. Until she is approached by two people, Sallie and Barnaby Sklar. The children of famous painter Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen). After a long career as a painter and judge on a painting show, he has become a recluse in his north London home. They ask her to go pretend to be the assistant of their father all the while trying to copy a group of famous paintings he did years ago in honor of an ex lover. Of course, things don’t go exactly as they were planned. That creates an interesting dynamic between the two stars of the film.

Ian McKellen is an actor I’ve admired for decades. Films like “Richard  III” “God’s and Monsters” and “Apt Pupil” were movies that gave me a vibe about him as an actor that I fell in love with. Sure, I enjoyed his performances in the X-Men and Lord of the Rings franchises, but it’s his little indie roles that made him an actor I continue to enjoy year after year. Her role in this movie is another one of those small indie roles he’s made his own. I loved him as this stubborn reclusive painter who doesn’t like his kids. He has a sassiness about him that I have grown to adore. His chemistry with Coel is the real reason to see this movie. 

Speaking of Micheala Coel, I have seen her only a couple of times in my lifetime in a film. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and this movie. Sure, she was great in the drama series “I May Destroy You” on HBO. She was great in that show. Her straight to the point personality helps her give off an interesting vibe. Especially opposite McKellen, who is more boisterous and outgoing. Sure, she is great at playing the straight man, but she also has a vibe all her own. And that starts with her wardrobe in the film. She has an amazing style I was envious of in this movie. It’s hard to get across bluntness on film, but she is perfect at it. This personality works perfectly opposite the quirkiness of McKellen. 

As far as the art aspect of this movie goes, it was fascinating to me, but I didn’t learn a whole lot about painting. I only learned that some paintings are rare and they can be very sought after by collectors. The painter of said painting can shed light on their validity or quality.  McKellen’s character does talk about this sort of thing. It’s funny to see how he discards his own work to some extent. We are our own biggest critics, and that can be very specifically a thing in the art community. Being great at anything can be hard to empathize with. I’ve heard this is very hard for some actors. That’s why they won’t watch their own films and television shows. Athletes are very similar to this regarding how they can sometimes be a bit shy about their careers. I know someone who fits into this category. 

Steven Soderbergh is a very prolific director.  “The Christophers” was the third he had come out in the 2025 calendar year. Yes, this was at Tiff, and it’s now coming out wide, but it still premiered last year. Soderbergh also had “Black Bag” and “Presence” come out last year. He is able to make films on a small budget and sometimes use iPhones while making these movies. He cranks out a lot of movies. This film was a bit different than anything I’ve seen home made in the past, but similar to “Black Bag” it’s got a strong script. McKellen and Coel eat up the dialogue, and the relatively small spaces of this apartment create a closeness to give the characters something to work with. The cinematography was very well done. Soderbergh creates a great dynamic for these characters. 

Besides McKellen and Coel, there are two other characters in the film played by James Corden (Peter Rabbit)and Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer). They play the adult children of McKellen ‘s character. They are very greedy and come across as very one note. They didn’t have an archivist other than trying to get some paintings so they could make a lot of money. This is typical of children of a rich man or woman who has something of value or a lot of money they can get after their relative passes away. The film needed these characters as a foyle for its story. To make the McKellen character come across as a good guy even though he’s a bit of a grumpy old man most of the time. 

“The Christophers” is a fun movie if you like McKellen doing what he does best in small indie films. If he has a good scene partner like Coel, he is able to do great work. This is the McKellen I have always loved. Coel does great work here as well. The story as a whole was a bit similar to others I’ve seen in the past, but the script is very good despite that, especially since McKellen and Coel are able to eat up the dialogue so well. They have great chemistry. Soderbergh has made a little movie I wouldn’t have cared about if it weren’t for the performances from its two stars.

4 stars