96% Rotten Tomatoes

The two artists at the center of The Christophers are introduced not hunched over their easels, but slogging through the dreariness of the gig economy: Cantankerous elder statesman Julian Sklar (a riveting Ian McKellen) is recording half-hearted Cameos for fans, and should-be rising star Lori Butler (Michaela Coel) is running a food truck to offset the loss of her art restoration business. The creative spark of their unlikely partnership becomes the crux of Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, an art heist tale that grows into a refreshingly layered meditation on the messy interplay between artist, muse, and viewer. A potential ticket out of Lori’s artistic slump comes in the form of Julian’s grown children, art school nepo classmate Sallie (Jessica Gunning) and her equally entitled brother, Barnaby (James Corden). Her mission? Complete The Christophers, a series of famously unfinished masterpieces their father made of his lover in the 90s, so the siblings can rake in millions by selling the forgeries.-Chicago Reader