150 Word Review: 'The Christophers' (2026)

Art for art's sake

May 17, 2026

Art is a tug-of-war that happens between generations, mentors and proteges, up-and-comers and has-beens. In The Christophers, a blunt little comedy, two painters trade barbs and cultivate connections: one a fallen master, wealthy and alone, the other, a never-was, disillusions, bitter, an occasional forger of others’ work.

She’s played with quiet intensity by Michaela Coel, hired by ungrateful, talentless children to finish the lost great works of their father, Julian Sklar, a former pop art great, portrayed with lion-in-winter gusto by Ian McKellen. Coel and McKellen make a fine pair; they’re both so dignified on the outside, but you can tell their internal wells run deep. It is a pleasure to watch them parry and thrust and slowly grow to respect one another. This is a smart, heartfelt duet directed by Steven Soderbergh, who churns out at least one clever, subtly inventive movie for adults every year, and thank God.