---
title: "The Christophers"
year: 2026
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-christophers"
fi1m_id: "the-christophers"
imdb_id: "tt34966562"
tmdb_id: 1400357
wikidata_id: "Q132646719"
fi1m_score: 74
critics_score: 75
critics_reviews: 18
published: "2026-09-09"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:43.391700+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Christophers (2026)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh · 1h 40m · MPA R · Crime, Comedy

## Identity

The Christophers

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-christophers
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-christophers
- **IMDb ID:** tt34966562
- **TMDB ID:** 1400357
- **Wikidata ID:** Q132646719
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34966562/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1400357, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q132646719

**Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 75 from 18 reviews

*In a sentence:* A heist in which the loot is a man’s signature and the getaway car never leaves the house

> Soderbergh’s small comedy about a painter and the woman hired to paint like him is good whenever it is just McKellen and Coel in a room. The children are drawn in crayon and the scheme does not quite add up, but the room is worth an evening.

## Synopsis

Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) is an ageing painter whose name is worth a great deal more than his recent work, and who lives, badly, in a shabby London townhouse. His grown children, Sally (Jessica Gunning) and Barnaby (James Corden), want the money that name could bring, and to get it they need someone who can paint like their father. Lori Butler (Michaela Coel) is a restorer with a gift for other people’s pictures. The siblings bring her to their father’s house. Steven Soderbergh directs, photographs and edits, from a screenplay by Ed Solomon.

## Review

Steven Soderbergh has made another small film, shooting and cutting it himself, and most of it happens inside one house. Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) is a painter who has outlived his own reputation and is living off it in a London townhouse that has not been dusted this century. His children, Sally (Jessica Gunning) and Barnaby (James Corden), would like to turn his name into money before he dies and takes it with him. Lori Butler (Michaela Coel) is the restorer they find to do the painting. Ed Solomon’s script dresses this up as a heist and then, once Lori is through the door, loses interest in the heist and settles in to watch two people talk.

That is the right decision, and the film is good because of it. It is also thin because of it. The plot is a hook to hang the actors on, and when the actors are off screen you can see the hook.

McKellen is having the time of his life, and it is a pleasure to watch him have it. Julian is vain, cruel and funny, a man who has been performing himself for so long he cannot remember how he used to sound, and McKellen plays him at full volume without ever letting the volume become the joke. He times an insult so the laugh arrives a beat before the hurt does. Coel does the opposite. Lori is frank, unimpressed and slow to speak, and where McKellen fills the house with noise, Coel waits for a gap and then says the one thing that lands. The two of them are mismatched on purpose and the mismatch is the film.

What surprised us was how much we came to mind about them. Somewhere in the second half, without our noticing when, the sparring stopped being a contest and became two people who had each spent a life making things and were not sure it had been worth it. We had come for the comedy and found ourselves oddly moved by two failures comparing notes. It is the actors who did that, and a small handful of Solomon’s better lines, and not the story, which by then has more or less stopped.

Soderbergh, as his own cinematographer, keeps the camera in the house and mostly at the level of the people in it. Antonia Lowe has built Julian a home that looks lived in rather than dressed, canvases stacked against walls and rooms that have given up being tidy, and it is a good place to spend time. For about an hour. At 100 minutes the walls begin to press in, and Soderbergh’s editing, usually his sharpest tool, cannot quite hide that scenes are recurring in the same three rooms. David Holmes, who has scored a good deal of Soderbergh’s work since *Ocean’s Eleven*, is here again and is used sparingly.

The children are the weak part. Gunning and Corden are asked to play greed with no shading, and they play it as written, which means every scene they are in is a scene we are waiting to get out of. The scheme they set in motion is also never fully thought through; questions about who is fooling whom, and how any of this would survive a phone call to a lawyer, are raised and then left on the table. One critic has called it half a film. We would not go that far, but we understand the complaint. Solomon wrote [*No Sudden Move*](https://film.one/film/no-sudden-move) for Soderbergh, a plot that clicked shut like a case; this one is left open on purpose, and the purpose is not always clear.

It is a good film about two people and a slight film about everything around them. See it for McKellen and Coel, and do not expect the crime to be the point. It will lose almost nothing on a sofa, since it is two people in a room to begin with, and the 15 certificate is for the language, which is Julian’s and frequent.

*Fi1m score 74, published 9 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like The Christophers a good deal, and they like it for the same reason: Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel. The reviews return again and again to the pairing, the sardonic old painter against the steady forger, and to the pleasure of watching two actors argue about art, ownership and legacy in a single London house. Ed Solomon’s script gets credit for its twists and its talk, and Soderbergh for keeping the chamber piece light on its feet.

The reservations are mild and scattered. Some find the plot slender, some find the one-room setting claustrophobic by the end, and a few call it lesser Soderbergh, well made but easier to copy than his best work. Little White Lies thinks the painter’s grasping children are drawn as cartoons. The spread is narrow apart from one outlier: The Telegraph calls it half a film and blames a feeble script, a view no one else shares.

## Straight answers

**Is The Christophers worth watching?**

*The Christophers* is worth watching for the two hours McKellen and Coel spend sparring in one London house, and we scored it 74. The heist plot is thin and the grown children are written without shading, so come for the two leads rather than the scheme. It loses almost nothing watched at home.

**How long is The Christophers, and what is it rated?**

*The Christophers* runs 1h 40m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a crime and comedy film.

**Where can I watch The Christophers in the US?**

*The Christophers* is streaming on Hulu and Disney+ in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The Christophers, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Christophers* is a 15 in the UK and an R in the US, and the certificate is for the language, which is frequent and mostly Julian's. There is no violence or frightening material to speak of; it is two people talking in a house. It is not for children, but a teenager who can take the swearing will be fine.

**How does The Christophers compare to Sleuth?**

*The Christophers* and [*Sleuth*](https://film.one/film/sleuth) both put two people in one house and let them fight with words, but *Sleuth* is the tighter and nastier of the two. Its plotting keeps turning where the newer film loses interest in its own crime. Choose *Sleuth* for the game and *The Christophers* for the warmer, sadder company.

**What should I watch after The Christophers?**

After *The Christophers*, try [*Sleuth*](https://film.one/film/sleuth) (1972, Fi1m 82): Two men, one house, a game that keeps changing its rules. Then [*Can You Ever Forgive Me?*](https://film.one/film/can-you-ever-forgive-me) (2018, Fi1m 84): A forger who is better at other people’s voices than her own; and [*Mr. Turner*](https://film.one/film/mr-turner) (2014, Fi1m 84): Timothy Spall grunts his way through a painter’s late years, magnificently.

### Reviews we read (21)

- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (90/100, inferred): There is no room for anything shy of genius in this crackling original drama about artistic legacy. McKellen and Coel are brilliantly matched as the aging art star and the forger in a sharp two-hander full of mental jousting and questions about ownership and memory. [Read](https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/the-christophers-review-ian-mckellen-michaela-coel-1236511283/)
- **Empire**, John Nugent (85/100, inferred): The critic praises this as a terrific two-hander driven by sublime lead performances from Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel, along with Soderbergh's sly direction and Ed Solomon's sharp, twisty script full of witty dialogue. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-christophers/)
- **The Guardian** (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's witty take on art, value and attribution, highlighting Soderbergh and Solomon's convincing portrayal of haughty Englishness comparable to Gosford Park and Phantom Thread. Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel deliver standout performances as the irascible painter and his assistant. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/14/the-christophers-review-ian-mckellen-michaela-coel)
- **The New Yorker**, Justin Chang (85/100, inferred): Soderbergh’s film is satisfying in every respect as two skilled painters move from deception to common ground. Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel are superbly matched in this artists’ duel set in a ramshackle London townhouse. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/the-christophers-movie-review)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Brian Tallerico (80/100, inferred): The film is a light-footed chamber piece showcasing two phenomenal performers in conversations about art and ownership. McKellen and Coel’s interplay as the bitter artist and the cunning restorer gives it intellectual life and curiosity. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/tiff-2025-the-christophers-sons-dead-mans-wire-tuner)
- **The Observer**, Wendy Ide (80/100, inferred): The review lauds the terrific two-hander as a meaty study of character and the creative process, driven by the crackling chemistry between McKellen's raffish painter and Coel's mismatched assistant. It highlights small, perfectly judged flourishes that make the odd-couple art-world tale charmingly raffish. [Read](https://observer.co.uk/culture/film/article/the-christophers-paints-the-colourful-lives-of-artists)
- **Time Out**, Elizabeth Weitzman (4/5): The critic highlights the film's existence as a win for old-school artistry and praises the twisty, dialogue-driven drama anchored by McKellen and Coel's engaging performances. The script's depth and Soderbergh's direction elevate the chamber-piece setup. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-christophers-review-2026)
- **Vulture** (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights the perfect mismatch in energy between McKellen and Coel in this sly dramedy, praising the character-driven twists and melancholy undertones about art and love. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/ian-mckellen-and-michaela-coel-are-a-perfect-mismatch.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Amy Nicholson (75/100, inferred): No actor this month enjoys themselves more than Ian McKellen as the egomaniac painter in this slender pleasure. The plot doodles along as the artist and the restorer thwart his money-grubbing children while interrogating why they make art. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-04-09/christophers-review-ian-mckellen-michaela-cole-steven-soderbergh)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (75/100, inferred): The review celebrates the earnest, witty and beguiling heist movie as a masterclass from McKellen and Coel, noting their mutually dependent yet combative double act in a character-driven story. It singles out the performances and Soderbergh's loose approach to the genre for praise. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-christophers-review-ian-mckellen-michaela-coel-t762htcp7)
- **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The critic describes the Toronto premiere as a witty, chatty two-hander where McKellen's sardonic artist meets his match in Coel's frank preservationist, delivering charming intellectual sparring. The film's Toronto bow and strong cast are noted positively. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-christophers-review-steven-soderberghs-witty-chamber-piece-stars-ian-mckellen-and-michaela-coel/5208692.article)
- **Little White Lies**, Marina Ashioti (3/3/4): The critic calls it a brilliant showcase for McKellen and Coel, with their contrasting performances driving a charming, intelligent two-hander that explores art, identity and authorship. The siblings' cartoonish portrayal is noted as a minor drawback. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-christophers)
- **The Telegraph**, Tim Robey (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film more like half a film, with details that do not add up, and criticises the disappointingly feeble script by Ed Solomon despite the strong cast. Even McKellen cannot salvage the weak material, which fails to explore its themes deeply. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2026/05/15/the-christophers-film-review-ian-mckellen/)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic praises Soderbergh's quick-witted chamber piece for its rich ideas about art, criticism, forgery and legacy, centered on the tense, theatrical sparring between McKellen's flamboyant painter and Coel's steely forger. The performances and stripped-down focus on two people in a room stand out as highlights. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/christophers-steven-soderbergh-pits-ian-mckellen-against-michaela-coel-film-rich-with-ideas-about-art-criticism-forgery)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The critic praises the verbal sparring and performances of Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen in this tart art comedy about legacy and greed. Soderbergh directs with playful control, highlighting the actors' chemistry. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-christophers-review-ian-mckellen-steven-soderbergh-1236365897/)
- **The New York Times**, Alissa Wilkinson (Critic’s Pick): Soderbergh delivers a sparkling, funny, wise movie about two painters who consider themselves failures and how money shapes art. Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel are terrific as the cranky veteran artist and the skilled restorer drawn into his orbit. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/movies/the-christophers-review.html)
- **/Film**, Jeremy Mathai (85/100, inferred): The film starts as a heist but pivots into a nuanced two-hander on artistry, legacy, and generational divides, with excellent performances from McKellen and Coel that make it a must-watch streaming gem. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/2243787/ian-mckellen-underrated-heist-movie-the-christophers-streaming-hulu/)
- **The Playlist**, Gregory Ellwood (B+): The film gives Ian McKellen one of his best late-career roles as a cantankerous artist, with strong chemistry and sharp dialogue alongside Michaela Coel; it is a very good chamber piece on legacy and closure but becomes overly claustrophobic in its small-room setting. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/the-christophers-review-ian-mckellen-michaela-coel-spar-in-steven-soderberghs-smart-art-world-drama-tiff-20250908/)
- **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): The critic calls McKellen and Coel riveting and highlights Soderbergh's chamber drama as a compelling meditation on art, integrity and legacy beyond its forgery premise. It describes the film as unexpectedly engrossing with curious final notes, though not the director's most exciting work. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-christophers-review-steven-soderbergh-ian-mckellen-michaela-coel/)
- **Deadline**, Damon Wise (75/100, inferred): The critic praises Ian McKellen's perfect performance as the eccentric, trailblazing artist and notes the film's unusually emotional tone for Soderbergh along with its thoughtful questions about art, forgery and legacy. It finds the story a bit uneven and opaque in balancing the two leads but ultimately worthy and resonant. [Read](https://deadline.com/2025/09/the-christophers-review-ian-mckellen-steven-soderbergh-michaela-cole-1236528402/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (6/10): The film is a solid but lesser chamber piece and formal experiment from Soderbergh that takes time to engage and feels easier to replicate than his typical work. McKellen and especially Coel are singled out for their strong, contrasting performances and dynamic interplay as the cantankerous artist and the forger. [Read](https://collider.com/the-christophers-review-steven-soderbergh-ian-mckellan-michaela-coel/)

## Details

- **Director:** Steven Soderbergh
- **Director:** Steven Soderbergh
- **Screenplay:** Ed Solomon
- **Cinematography:** Steven Soderbergh
- **Editor:** Steven Soderbergh
- **Music:** David Holmes
- **Production design:** Antonia Lowe
- **Producer:** Jim Parks, Iain Canning
- **Cast:** Michaela Coel as Lori Butler; Ian McKellen as Julian Sklar; Jessica Gunning as Sally Sklar; James Corden as Barnaby Sklar; Ferdy Roberts as Owen Appleton; Tilly Botsford as Esme; Lucy McCormick as Lori's Flatmate #1; Le Fil as Lori's Flatmate #2
- **Runtime:** 1h 40m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 10 April 2026
- **Genres:** Crime, Comedy
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42GkXhRVLUQ

## Where to watch in the US

- Hulu: streaming, uhd
- Disney+: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AU, CA, GB, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *F for Fake* (1973): Welles on forgers and liars, and on why we mind who painted what
- *Sleuth* (1972), Fi1m 82: Two men, one house, a game that keeps changing its rules — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/sleuth.md)
- *Can You Ever Forgive Me?* (2018), Fi1m 84: A forger who is better at other people’s voices than her own — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/can-you-ever-forgive-me.md)
- *The Best Offer* (2013): An Italian puzzle about an auctioneer who cannot tell copies from love
- *Mr. Turner* (2014), Fi1m 84: Timothy Spall grunts his way through a painter’s late years, magnificently — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mr-turner.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-christophers