Quick Synopsis: Lori Butler (Michaela Coel) is hired by the family of artist Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) to complete some of his unfinished work so they can sell them after he dies.

Soderbergh is one of those directors I should like more than I do (also on that list: the two Andersons: Paul Thomas and Wes). I haven’t actively disliked anything of his I’ve seen, but nothing has really grabbed my attention as being particularly impressive. I just find his work a little sterile at times, lacking emotion or warmth.

Those are two things which you definitely can’t say are lacking from The Christophers. This movie is all about vibes and warmth. Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel play well off each other. There are two types of moments where this movie is at its best: when they’re trading barbs with each other, and when they’re supporting each other. Sadly, it doesn’t move from one to the other in a continuous straight line, but constantly flits between the two like it’s arrived at its destination and then realised it had to go back home for something. The characters’ relationship is in a constant state of flux, sometimes for seemingly no reason. Both characters seem to take the smallest imagined slight as a huge personal insult, only because that’s what the story needs at that moment; there’s not much believability to it at times.

When it works, this film is magical. Unlike a lot of Soderbergh’s work, there’s no mystery to unravel, no twist or huge shock. It’s just straightforward storytelling. There are some semi-twists, but they happen so early on (and are heavily hinted in the trailers) that you can’t really count them. It is a nice story. Full of themes and ideas we can all identify with: love, artistic integrity, and wanting to see James Corden fail. On that note, as I left this movie, I overheard somebody behind me say, “I expected it to be much funnier because it’s got Corden in it and he’s the funniest actor”. First off, you’re wrong. Secondly, The Christophers is very funny. Sure, it’s not going to be a film people endlessly quote at each other, but you’ll need a heart of stone not to crack a smile at some of the one-liners. The humour is definitely an acquired taste, so it is natural that not everybody will like it. In some ways, it resembles more of a play than a film. The way the actors trade dialogue is very theatrical. Even the way it’s shot sometimes resembles a stage more than reality.

I feel like The Christophers is uncertain as to how famous its lead character is. He’s shown to be kind of a huge deal, with his paintings going for millions. But it never really feels genuine. You never feel “here’s a person who was a big deal in the art world”. Compare this to Opus, and how that sold the idea of the character as a musician. To be honest, I’m not sure how you’d fix that, either. Maybe start the film with a fake documentary about him from his early days as a young artist, talking about how high expectations are for him, then cut to him in the modern day, alone and uninspired? I dunno, I didn’t write it, Ed Solomon did. Fun fact: he also wrote the Bill and Ted trilogy (Very good), the first two Now You See Me movies (Pretty good), and the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie (not good at all). This isn’t as complex as needlessly complex as Now You See Me, which is probably a good thing.

Now, the ending. I get it, it works. But the framing of it is odd as it places two items in the closing shot, in a way that suggests a deep thematic resonance between the two, as if one explains the other. Take one aspect of the shot out, and it improves it. As it is, it feels slightly muddled and unsure of itself. It’s a shame, as the closing stretch is stronger than it should be, feeling like a heartwarming coda to what we’ve seen before. It’s just that final shot I’m not too fond of.

I’ll find it hard to imagine this would be anybody’s favourite film of the week, let alone of the year. But it’s hard to imagine actively disliking it. But much like art, I get the feeling that this is something to be admired and appreciated rather than enjoyed. It would fit well onto Mubi. but would flop on Netflix.