Review by Zach Dennis
Hidden away in the attic is their inheritance and by god, they’re going to get it.
Barnaby (James Corden) and Sally (Jessica Gunning) are estranged from their father Julian Skar (Ian McKellan), a once-renowned artist who parlayed his success in the 60s and 70s into an American Idol-esque art show that sullied his standing with the public. Not to mention a string of misses that failed to rise to the median level of his best.
They want the best: The Christophers. A series of pieces that Julian made his name on. The first two earned him wide acclaim while the art world waited for him to return with the third and final set. They never came. Instead, they allegedly sit in his attic – unfinished.
Their plan is to enlist the help of someone who can pose as Julian’s assistant for a few weeks and find the paintings in the attic to finish. This will ensure that they can find and sell them at the time of their father’s death. So, they call Sally’s old art school acquaintance Lori (Michaela Coel).
Lori has cut her teeth lately as an art restorer for hire and while a bit reluctant, takes the job from the siblings. She is unimpressed by Julian Skar, almost to the point of hate, and feels content to let him wither away at his computer performing Cameos for whoever has the money and desire. The feeling goes both ways as he’s dismissive of her as well. But he agrees to hire her and leaves her with tasks to complete.
It doesn’t take long for Lori to find The Christophers and begin work on them, but Julian comes in with a say as well.
The Christophers is off the territory that Steven Soderbergh has been treading lately with Black Bag, Presence, or Kimi. This one isn’t set apart by tricks of the camera or even an iPhone in the fold, it sticks to primarily one location (Julian’s home) and is almost a chamber piece for Coel and McKellan, the latter giving what is possibly his best performance on film since donning the robes as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings series.
Julian is bitter, sarcastic and uninterested in the other lives around him. That works fine for Lori until he begins to take a deeper curiosity into her own; pulling back layers that the artist didn’t necessarily want to open up, especially to her new employer and someone who haunts a bit of her past.
Coel is up to the game. Someone who has been more seen in television than movies, Lori is subdued and dignified. She doesn’t take shit from others and she can smell it on the siblings from a mile away. She’s not as aged with bitterness as Julian is, but some of her own simmers at the surface.
I’m always a mark for a new Soderbergh as he continues to be one of the more interesting contemporary filmmakers working today and this one is no different. It’s softer and quieter than some of his previous work, but leaves with such a profound feeling and performance that it almost slips by you.