Art isn’t just a question of what is in the frame; who put it there also counts. And sometimes the what doesn’t matter, depending on the who. That who can make the what a masterpiece worth millions. Or the who can make the what problematic, maybe even toxic, despite the quality of the what.

Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) isn’t totally toxic, but he’s close. At one time, Julian was the darling of the art world, a boundary-pushing provocateur who stood the stuffy establishment on its head. But that was years ago. Back before a career-damaging stint on a popular TV show where he offered cutting comedy instead of constructive criticism to aspiring art students, before a series of public comments cancelled him culturally, and before the art world left him in the dust for new blood.

The only thing that can resurrect Julian’s career now would be death—his death. Then his greatest creation, a series of portraits known as “The Christophers,” could be put on display in a traveling show, fetch astronomical prices at auction, and provide his two money-grubbing children a much-needed influx of cash.

That’s where The Christophers, written by Ed Solomon and directed by Steven Soderbergh, kicks off. The children viewing their father as an ATM: Sallie (Jessica Gunning) and Barnaby (James Corden), hire artist Lori (Michaela Coel) to finish—forge, in her words—the eight incomplete Christophers sitting in Julian’s home. Lori accepts, poses as Julian’s new assistant, and enters the painter’s house—a mausoleum to himself, really—for a twisty game of cat and mouse.

Soderbergh is a master of telling twisty stories with economy, and The Christophers is no exception. Reveals, complications, and reversals all unfold effortlessly and logically, and the narrative ends right where it should.

Per usual, Soderbergh plays his own cinematographer under the alias Peter Andrews, and films The Christophers in wide and medium shots. Close-ups are few and far between, and the characters are allowed to inhabit the space and show their dexterity for either listening, Lori mostly, or speaking, Julian, a man incapable of communicating outside of a monologue.

McKellen’s performance is the reason to see The Christophers. It’s a reminder that letting a camera rest and soak in the performance is a pleasure not often found in contemporary cinema.

The Christophers is a delight. Julian and Lori are perfect vessels for Solomon and Soderbergh to underline their point: Get distracted by the eye-catching what on the surface, and you’ll miss the genius of the who beneath.

The Christophers (2025)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay by Ed Solomon
Produced by Iain Canning, Jim Parks
Starring: Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, James Corden
Neon, Rated R, Running time 100 minutes, Premiered Sept. 7, 2025, at the Toronto International Film Festival

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