TIFF 2025: The Christophers Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Steven Soderbergh has undoubtedly been a busy director as of late, making his third appearance of 2025, following Presence and Black Bag, with The Christophers. A much different film than his previous two efforts, it is what many would consider an acquired taste. Offering up more of a slower paced, lower stakes, dialog-driven dramedy, it leans heavily on its script and performances to try to make up for the others areas where it may be perceived as lacking. That being said, the biggest question audiences will find themselves asking is whether or not it delivers enough. Arguably, the answer is yes, for the most part, though the opposite is just as likely a conclusion. Essentially a two-parter, Soderbergh does a fine job at making the most of a presumably indie budget in immersing audiences into the art world and the larger-than-life character at the heart of the film. Besides that, there is not much else to be had. However, to its credit, the film does have Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen, who make up for some bland writing with their performances and chemistry. While funny at times, it is also predictable but on a surface level, it still somewhat works thanks to the entertainment from simply watching Coel and McKellen play off of each other, assuming one hasn’t already become bored by just about everything else.

The Christophers is a mostly one location dramedy set in the art world and focuses on the relationship between people and art, as it relates to unpacking the complicated family dynamic of renowned painter Julian Sklar (McKellen). Cue Lori (Coel), a freelance art restorer that found herself enlisted by Julian Skar’s estranged children and presumed heirs, Sallie Milton (Gunning) and Barnaby (James Corden), to recover a series of long lost paintings from Julian’s home, known as the ‘Christophers’ and complete them in the hopes that his children could sell them and she receive a third of the profits upon his death. A big fan of Julian Sklar, Lori found a way to get closer to him by infiltrating his household under the guise of being his new assistant. Playing off their generational and ideological differences for laughs, that gap unsurprisingly made for a hurdle for the two to overcome, coming together through a shared adversity. In the end, it did not take long for Julian to catch wind of the plan that his children had devised. Having a contentious relationship with Sallie Milton and Barnaby, Sklar’s plan was to turn the tables back on them. Struggling herself, Lori clearly had a vested interest in the outcome of however their arrangement would ultimately go. Finding her allegiance split between he and his children, to her, it was all about the art above all else.

The best part of the film, as mentioned, are Coel and McKellan’s performances as Lori and Julian Sklar. The two complement one another nicely, bringing a different energy to the table and standing up to the other. The less showy role of the two, Coel’s work is done on an internal level, navigating through her conflicts and motives underneath her deadpan demeanor. McKellan can get away with his outrageous behavior thanks to the kind of gravitas that make it all work in spite of it. While the material may not be groundbreaking, they were fun to watch.

Overall, The Christophers is more of an acquired taste that won’t be for everyone but to its credit, Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen go a long way in making it work, for the most part.

still courtesy of TIFF

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.