Movie Review: The Christophers

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A fantastic new film from Steven Soderbergh.

In this film a young woman with an artistic gift is hired to complete the paintings of aging painter without him knowing. 

Like many of Soderbergh's best films this is a very intelligent and emotionally complex film, but one that is also completely accessible to a causal movie watcher. A story like this could easily either dip too far into sentimentality or become too cold and emotionally detached. The film falls into neither of these categories. Instead, it feels completely emotionally honest by digging into the complexities of the relationship between the main characters. The relationship between these characters is very antagonistic for much of the runtime, however even underneath this antagonism, there is a certain admiration and fondness that these characters have for each other. Their relationship is often defined by the mixture of these elements. Since the relationship is quite complex, the emotions that come from it are quite complex. Yet it is hard not to find yourself greatly moved by the end of the film. This also allows this to be the type of movie in which you never know what is going to happen next. Even when you think you know what direction it is heading in, the film surprises you. Yet each twist and turn makes perfect sense. Not only this but each twist reveals a new facet to our main characters, making them feel more complex and real. Of course, for such a character driven movie the casting is very important. Luckily Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel are in the main roles. Both of them are simply wonderful. They also have truly great chemistry with each other, making their complex relationship feel all the more real and relatable to us. 

A must see.