The Christophers: A Delightful Chamber Piece That Lets the Characters & Writing Shine (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, who has brought us such classics as "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," "Erin Brockovich," and "Traffic," has been going through a bit of a dry spell lately. His last three outings have included the poorly-received "Magic Mike's Last Dance," the bland haunted house drama "Presence," and "Black Bag," a spy thriller that was more interested in being clever than it was in telling a compelling story. It's been unfortunate to see him stumble over the last few years, but that hasn't stopped him from soldiering on, which brings us to his latest offering, a small dark comedy entitled "The Christophers." Armed with a screenplay by Ed Solomon (The "Bill & Ted" Trilogy, "Men in Black") and a cast that includes Oscar nominee Sir Ian McKellen & Emmy winner Michaela Coel, will this be the one that finally helps Soderbergh bounce back?

As the film opens, artist Lori Butler (Michaela Coel) is offered a job by Barnaby (James Corden) and Sallie Sklar (Jessica Gunning), who want her to finish a series of paintings that their famous father, Julian (Ian McKellen), never completed. She poses as his new assistant and gets to know the man, who hasn't done any work in years and instead makes money by doing specialized messages for fans. We find out that the paintings in question, the third set in the "Christophers" series, are of someone he once had a relationship with, one that ended abruptly, with the works remaining in a storeroom. At first, Lori goes along with the scheme, setting things in motion to work on the paintings, but as her friendship with Julian grows, she soon finds her position changing.

From the very start of the project, screenwriter Ed Solomon stated that he wanted to make a small chamber piece, primarily featuring just a couple of characters/actors and utilizing very few locations, a set of circumstances that one would assume would not simply be for the purpose of giving it a smaller budget, but would also allow for an intimate piece that puts a spotlight on the characters and the writing itself. Of course, such an approach brings quite a lot of risk with it, forcing the writer to ask themselves some simple questions: Are the characters fleshed-out enough to keep the audience's attention? Is the dialogue driving the story forward with enough development? Without a firm answer to both, there is quite a lot of potential for disaster.

Indeed, bringing such a primary focus to the single most important elements of any film is risky, but as it turns out, Solomon and director Steven Soderbergh were more than up to the task. What they've crafted with "The Christophers" is a remarkable character piece that gives us two fascinating leads in Julian Sklar and Lori Butler, whose relationship evolves a few times throughout the film as more developments come to light. Their conversations are strangely riveting as the two try to figure each other out, with their scenes together making the film feel very much like a play. This is by no means a criticism, as such minimal, highly-focused conditions very often lead to films that are quite compelling, which is certainly the case here.

Naturally, for such an approach to work, you would need actors who would be able to rise to the challenge of having all of the weight on their shoulders, carrying the film forward in its pivotal scenes between the two artists, and in that regard, Sir Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel more than do so. We watch with rapt attention as they take the film from what starts as a kind of deceptive heist outing to something a little more daring, something where a friendship grows as these two slowly start to understand one another, ultimately showing us exactly why they were perfect for these roles.

What we're left with is an intriguing little tale, one that doesn't require any kind of flourishes or big production value to get its compelling story across. "The Christophers" is the kind of film that definitively proves that those things aren't necessary when you have good, solid writing and remarkably talented actors capable of bringing it to life. When the most important elements are put front & center and allowed to shine like this, it really shouldn't be much of a surprise how often it leads to something quite special.

Video/Audio:

"The Christophers" comes to Blu-ray in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality, presenting a perfectly clear & crisp picture throughout its entire 100-minute duration. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue & music in outstanding quality. Overall, NEON has done a marvelous job in both areas for the film's physical debut.

Special Features:

Conversation with Screenwriter Ed Solomon and Charlie Kaufman (2 Minutes): A very brief clip of a chat the two writers have about the film.

Conclusion:

With "The Christophers," screenwriter Ed Solomon and director Steven Soderbergh deliver a strangely riveting chamber piece that gives one the feeling of watching a play, one where the characters & writing are put in the spotlight and truly allowed to shine, especially with remarkable talent like Sir Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel bringing them to life. In the end, we're simply left with a deceptively small outing that's truly one of the best films of the year.

Score: 4/5

Available on Blu-ray starting today.

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