Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) is an aging London painter who is long past his glory days. He was famous in the 90s for the two series of paintings he did called “The Christophers”. He had started a third series of these paintings but but never completed them. Now he spends his days making Cameos for fans, and is mostly known for being the old grumpy guy on the reality show Art Fight. Lori Butler (Michaela Coel, Chewing Gum, I May Destroy You, Mother Mary) is an artist who, when she was younger, looked up to, revered, and was inspired by Julian. However, she no longer exhibits her artwork, and that may be due to an encounter she had with Julian years earlier—a meeting that he probably isn’t even aware of. Lori now takes jobs as an art restorer (and occasional forger), and also works in a food truck to help make ends meet.

One day Lori receives a call from Julian’s estranged children, Barnaby (James Corden) & Sallie (Jessica Gunning)—a former art school classmate of hers—who are looking for her to do a restoration. However, she soon discovers that that the siblings actually want her to forge the third series of unfinished “Christophers” so that they can sell them once their father passes away. Lori agrees, and gets a job as Julian’s assistant so that she can get close to the paintings. But it isn’t long before Julian figures out something is amiss, and Lori confesses to his children’s scheme. Julian is eager to teach his greedy children a lesson, and the two hatch their own plan. As Julian and Lori spend time together and share stories about their lives and challenges with one another, they start to form a bond, with Julian becoming a bit of a mentor to Lori. However, both of them have deep-seeded personal issues that sometimes come out the wrong way, creating a rocky road for this unexpected friendship.
 

I didn’t even know what The Christophers was when the disc arrived for review—I don’t think I had even seen a trailer for it at the theater—but I was pleasantly surprised as I sat down to watch it. Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel both give strong, emotional performances, with some very humorous moments peppered in. The actors have excellent chemistry, and the relationship that forms between Julian and Lori feels quite natural and authentic. Their dynamic grows and develops over the course of the film, with both of them finding things to learn about life and about themselves from one another. Julian has become this bitter person over the years, resembling the angry guy he was known for on reality TV. Lori starts off feeling bit of resentment towards Julian, but gets a better understanding of what he’s gone through, and the inspiration for is paintings. She also sparks something in Julian, helping to remind him of why he originally started painting. The characters of the children are a little less fleshed out and multi-dimensional. James Corden & Jessica Gunning are more of the bumbling cartoony villains there to add humor. They have this plan to strike it rich, but they obviously never think things through and rush forward halfcocked, only to have Lori constantly point out the flaws in their logic.

The Christophers feels a lot like you’re watching a play. It’s dialogue-heavy, with a minimal cast, and primarily set in one location—Julian’s London townhouse. Much of the film centers around the discourse between Lori and Julian. Julian has got to the point where he doesn’t really do art anymore, and instead just records Cameos for his fans. When he learns that Lori is planning to forge his work and complete the “Christophers” in his signature style, he’s almost insulted. How dare someone think they can do what he does. However, as he starts to get to know Lori, he starts to realize that if anyone can, perhaps its her. He’s also surprised by the way she seems to understand him, and how she is able to identify his exact inspirations behind the first two series of “Christophers”. Once Lori enters his entered his life, Julian starts to feel inspiration again, and a desire to create art again.

The film takes many twists and turns as the various plans and counter-schemes constantly change. But the story ultimately builds to a solid, emotionally-stratifying conclusion, though it leaves some things open-ended, for the viewer to decide how things actually played out.

Decal Releasing, in association with NEON, has released The Christophers on Blu-ray & Digital. We were sent the Blu-ray release for review. The visual presentation looks great, with a clean, detailed picture that captures all of the beauty of the artwork and the detail and textures on the canvas. The audio is offered in both Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD English tracks, but I never really got any sense of the stereo of surround channels being utilized. The audio felt primarily just dialogue focused in the center channel. Dialogue is clear throughout.

The Blu-ray disc is placed in a standard HD keepcase. Our review copy did not include a slipcover. There is no digital copy code included. For bonus material, the disc just contains one short 2 minute clip from an interview with the writer and director as well as the film’s trailer.

What’s Included:

Film (1:39:58):

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English Dolby Atmos, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras:

• Conversation with Screenwriter Ed Solomon and Charlie Kaufman (1:59)
  Footage from a theater Q&A with screenwriter Ed Solomon and screenwriter/director Charlie Kaufman, who talk about how the project came about, the inspirations for the story and characters, writing the film with the specific actors in mind, the play-like nature of the movie, and the writing process.
• Trailer (2:10)

Final Thoughts:

The Christophers is a well acted film, with an interesting story, well-developed characters, and a nice blend of drama, emotion and humor. Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel both give really strong performances, and have great on-screen chemistry. The Blu-ray’s technical presentation is strong, but the bonus material is minimal, with just a 2-minute interview clip and the film’s trailer. It’s worth a look for fans of the cast/film.