Five Stars: “An irascible, dyspeptic old English painter called Julian Sklar, wonderfully played by Ian McKellen, is a once dominant but now outmoded and disliked artist of the School of London variety, living solo in a chaotic bohemian townhouse in the capital’s Bloomsbury district; he is a man given to toweringly witty and cantankerous rants against everything that presents itself to his raddled senses.”—Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“A spectacular Ian McKellen plays the artist Julian Sklar, a crank, and sometimes a despicable one, but the sort you kind of love.”—Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times
Now in Cinemas in UK
Tickets at TGIMovie: The Christophers (2026) Movie Showtimes & Tickets in UK | TGI Movie
Picturehouse: https://thechristophers.film
Now in Cinemas in Ireland
Tickets at Ominplex: https://www.omniplex.ie/whatson/movie/showtimes/the-christophers
Picturehouse: https://thechristophers.film
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- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/showtimes/title/tt34966562/
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Michaela Coel (Lori) and Ian McKellen (Julian)
Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers is a blackly comic chamber piece centered on Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen), a once‑legendary painter who has curdled into a glorious spectacle of ego, cruelty, and theatrical decay. Now broke, reclusive, and defiantly unrepentant, Julian spends his days hurling insults as a notorious TV art‑show judge and recording cutting personalized video messages for strangers, treating each cameo as a miniature performance of disdain and wit. When his estranged children scheme to profit from a cache of unfinished paintings after his death, their plot brings a skilled art forger (Michaela Coel) into Julian’s orbit—triggering a duel of intellect, vanity, and manipulation. At once hilarious and unsettling, the film revels in Julian’s outrageousness: a man who mistakes cruelty for honesty, spectacle for legacy, and turns even his own irrelevance into an act of savage charisma.
Screenplay by Ed Solomon
“…at times incredibly funny, comedy drama with plot reversals that make it feel like it’s on the verge of a thriller.”—Benjamin Lee, The Guardian
“McKellen is genuinely superb, shambling around the house with elderly bluster yet delivering broadsides with the precision of a master draughtsman. He is cantankerous, yet also sad and wistful, finding many shades of a man being forced to take stock towards the end of his life, confronted with disappointments and regrets.”—John Nugent, Empire
“…insensitive, obnoxious, and self-absorbed in many ways, but also capable of kindness and repentance—as well as artistic brilliance.”—Dennis Harvey, 48Hills
“The Christophers is so moving and life-affirming that it had the entire audience spontaneously bursting into applause during the credits.”—Jared Rasic, Detroit Metro Times
“Finally, a real movie! Everything Julian (Ian McKellen) says is outrageous or profound.” Sarah G Vincent
“…he’s a tempestuous, ferociously intelligent titan, diminished by time and circumstance but still retaining the intimidating power of his adversarial ego” John Paul King, Washington Blade
“…this just might be the best big-screen role he’s ever had… (And yes, I do remember The Lord of the Rings, thank you.)” Jeffrey Overstreet
“McKellen … would be in the Oscar conversation if this were being released during awards season.”—Adam Graham, The Detroit News
“McKellen makes [Julian] funny, vain, cruel, frightened and oddly touching all at once”—Linda Marrick, Hey U Guys
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