US EditionSteven Soderbergh’s Latest Film Plays Like a Late-Stage Masterwork Arrived at Decades Early
Barnaby and Sallie recruit a broke restorer to finish eight paintings and sell them as newly discovered works worth millions after Julian Sklar dies.
- On April 10, director Steven Soderbergh released 'The Christophers' in limited theaters, featuring Ian McKellen as an aging, reclusive painter whose estranged children plot to forge his unfinished masterworks.
- Julian Sklar, an egomaniacal former art star living in London, has retreated from public life after three decades of decline, prompting his children Barnaby and Sallie to seek profit from his artistic legacy.
- Lori Butler, a struggling art restorer, is hired to covertly complete eight unfinished portrait sketches known as 'The Christophers' so they can be sold as newly discovered early works after Sklar's death.
- As Butler infiltrates Sklar's household, the film evolves into a two-hander exploring artistic legacy and commodification, with McKellen and Michaela Coel creating a compelling dynamic through contrasting energies and performances.
- Following its limited debut, the film expands nationwide on April 17, marking a stylistic departure for Soderbergh, who eschews flashy filmmaking for an intimate, stage-like character study centered on his performers.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Steven Soderbergh’s Latest Film Plays Like a Late-Stage Masterwork Arrived at Decades Early
The Christophers is in limited theatres on April 10 and opens nationwide on April 17.It’s been over a decade since master-of-all-trades Steven Soderbergh turned out a straightforward drama: his 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, just prior to his first “retirement.” In recent years, he’s returned to create a genre smorgasbord consisting of a COVID thriller, a spiffy spy flick, a sentimental stripper sequel and a haunted house movie from…
‘The Christophers’ Review: Ian McKellen’s Best Screen Performance Since Gandalf Brings Some Much-Needed Life Back to Soderbergh’s Late Style
An art forger played by Michaela Coel is hired to steal an old painter's unfinished work in the rare Steven Soderbergh movie with some real life in its bones.
Los Angeles Times
arcamax.comReview: Ian McKellen is at his gasbag best in the art-world dramedy 'The Christophers'
Swiftly directed by Steven Soderbergh, the chamber comedy creates a fascinating partnership of opposites played by Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen.
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