The Christophers
15
Why watch?
“Whilst The Christophers features small comic turns from James Corden and Ruth Jones as Julian’s scheming offspring, really this is a two-hander with Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel shining in the two leads. Both are magnificent, though McKellen in particular feels like he slips almost too easily into his character. Cruel, brilliant, charismatic, lonely…it’s Gandalf’s darker twin, and it’s a thrill to watch, balanced perfectly against Michaela Coel’s restrained performance of a damaged character, now protecting herself and prowling for revenge in the same breath.”
Wendy Cook,
Head of Cinema
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Hyde Park Pick: The Christophers
A mainstay of the London art scene since his starry breakout in the creative explosion of the 1960s, Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) has drifted into a cluttered, self-imposed seclusion. His two estranged children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning) enlist Lori (Michaela Coel), a young painter and sometime-forger, to pose as a prospective assistant and gain access to a fabled series of unfinished canvases Julian has buried deep in his home studio, in a deceptive bid to secure an inheritance for themselves.
Details
“I have rarely enjoyed watching two actors’ rapport the way I loved watching McKellen and Coel; it could have gone on forever and not been long enough.”
The New York Times
“"Had The Christophers just been a cross-generational punch-up, the sort of flinty showdown designed to throw off pleasurable sparks, you’d still walk away content. It remains a conduit for two of the best performances you’ll see all year."”
Rolling Stone