Parents' Guide to The Christophers

This comedy drama directed by Steven Soderbergh feels like the work of a filmmaker very much in his stride—stripped back, confident, and clearly enjoying himself. The Christophers is a compelling, intimate film, closer in feel to a stage play than a thriller, anchored by two remarkable performances from McKellen and Coel. McKellen carries the bulk of the dialogue, delivering his lines with a heady mix of bitterness and flamboyance, while Coel has a different, more elusive task—she spends much of the film listening. The result is that it's difficult to tell what she's thinking; she is, in effect, a blank canvas on which McKellen's Julian Sklar is frantically painting his final masterpiece. McKellen is superb, inhabiting the role so completely that he seems to surprise even himself. The complex characterization doesn't quite extend to the supporting cast, however—Julian's children Barnaby (Corden) and Sallie (Gunning) feel slightly out of place tonally. But they serve a purpose. Julian may be the one society has cast as the villain, but he is surrounded by vultures—so who is the real villain here? It's a question the film is too smart to answer directly, trusting its audience to sit with the ambiguity.