TIFF Review: Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers is a Somewhat Dull Actors’ Showcase

Steven Soderbergh will not stop, and we should be thankful for that. His second film of 2025, The Christophers, is easily the year’s least essential, yet it has plenty to say about Soderbergh, his oeuvre, and where he finds himself today. The year began with 2024 holdover Presence, a fine ghost story, and continued with the brilliant Black Bag. The latter is as smart as anything its director has ever made. It also excelled at human interaction––between husband and wife, employer and employee, mentor and mentee.

The Christophers’ chief relationship is a drippy mix of all the above. It’s centered on a failed artist, Lori (played with confidence and seen-it-all annoyance by Michaela Coel), who is hired by the heirs (embodied with lustful nervousness by James Corden and Jessica Gunning) of the legendary painter Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) to grab his famous (or infamous) series of unfinished paintings known as “The Christophers.” What follows is a (seemingly) long dialogue between McKellen and Coel. And it is generally pretty compelling. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit dull, visually and dramatically. 

As scripted by Ed Solomon (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Men in Black, Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move), The Christophers is designed to bring together McKellen and Coel for lengthy discussions of the artist’s work and where his efforts should lead. But to what end? Soderbergh’s camera eats up the pairing of McKellen and Coel, two stellar actors capable of dominating the screen. At a certain point, though, the audience loses track of what’s happening, and stops caring. Is Sklar completing his work? Is Lori? Do we care? Probably not.

For the most part, it’s solely an actor’s showcase, specifically the legendary McKellen and relative newcomer Coel. There are other performers here––most notably Corden and Gunning––but this film is all about McKellen, Coel, and Solomon’s script. That Soderbergh’s touch is invisible may be by design. Still, there’s no reason for this film to be so visually unenticing. Soderbergh’s shown time and time again––in everything from Kafka and Out of Sight to Traffic and Magic Mike and Kimi––that he can elevate material. That doesn’t happen here. 

The Christophers is adequate entertainment, but nothing more. It’s hard to imagine it earning the screens awarded to Presence and Black Bag. The script warrants discussion: what does art mean? What is the value of original work? Does authenticity matter? Yet the film itself isn’t strong enough to carry the weight of those questions. For audiences wishing to see two actors dig into juicy roles, The Christophers will get the job done. If you’re looking for a deep analysis of originality and artifice, look elsewhere.

The Christophers premiered at TIFF 2025.