The Christophers – Film Review
by Hugh Maguire

Director – Steven Soderbergh
Writer – Ed Solomon
Stars – Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen, Jessica Gunning

Largely, it would seem, a vehicle for Sir Ian McKellen, the film takes us through a tightly- focused narrative on the potential execution of a series of paintings by a celebrated artist.  Under self-inflicted financial pressure, his children, from whom he seems largely estranged, see a financial opportunity in having their father complete a series of canvases from earlier in his career.  If he won’t complete the works, they can be completed (forged?) by one of their former classmates, an artist manqué.  She has additional issues, as the same celebrated artist once mocked her efforts on a popular TV art show.  So, she smells revenge of sorts – compounded with a mixture of contempt, guilt and the need for hard cash.

It could all work as a stage play.  Despite the occasional view of a smart Robert Adam-designed Fitzroy Square, Fitzrovia, it is all very room bound – admittedly with a fantastical recreation of an artist’s studio.  We may imagine that the director and/or set designer have visited the Francis Bacon Studio in the Hugh Lane Gallery.  There is a lot of name-dropping of well-known critics and artists, and an underlying presumption that one is au fait with BBC Radio 4, the ‘Moral Maze’ and Melvyn Bragg discourses.  It is very narrative-focused – there is a lot of dialogue – with a sparkling array from McKellen.  Indeed, one has the feeling that McKellen is being overly McKellen and that maybe he is, in truth, a  ‘lovey-dovey darling’ like this in real life.  How difficult would that be! So, while there is much about the art world and tubes of paint and brushes everywhere, we might imagine the same mannerisms being played out for any number of creative types – the troubled writer/composer/ sculptor.   Slot in the creative area as one sees fit.  There is a sense in which McKellen may have presented the same persona regardless of discipline, or his character might undoubtedly say métier. There are lots of sometimes waspish bon mots which trip off the tongue all too easily – a touch of Lady Bracknell aiming for a Maggie Smith / Judi Dench delivery but perhaps more Lilly Savage on a roll.

For all the witticisms and archaeological detail of house and studio, there are undeniably serious issues addressed – if not interrogated deeply.   The whole issue of art and its values, and what a signature means in the age of AI, is something of a hot topic.  When does an artwork cease to be an original – even Rubens in his day had teams of assistants doing all sorts of elements in a composition.  The work is still a Rubens.  On what basis do we celebrate artistic talent, and then there are questions around forgery and the morality of the practitioner of what can undoubtedly be a great skill, if not a great art.  Then there are questions of unrequited love and the duty, or not, to one’s family.  Taken together, a viewing, as at the best exhibitions, can be both entertaining and stimulating.