The Chrisophers (15)

Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel play off each other beautifully in an intimate London-set comedy drama about art, commerce and the mess in-between.

McKellen is Julian Sklar, a once-brilliant painter who sullied his name with awful behaviour. Now, separated from the world he looks down on in his London townhouse, he makes money through embarrassing Cameo videos.

He’s cursed with two talentless children (Jessica Gunning and James Corden), they’re obsessed with the money they might still be able to squeeze from him. There’s a set of portraits – The Christophers – that have gained a mythical reputation and while no one on the outside knows they’re unfinished, the siblings intend to hire an expert to finish them so that they can con their way into a fortune. They pick Lori (Coel), an art restorer, she pretends to be Julian’s new assistant and the pair begin an unusual relationship, filled with mistrust, anger and revenge.

The Christophers is an witty comedy drama with plot reversals that make it feel like it’s on the verge of a thriller. It doesn’t end up there, but it’s unpredictable enough to never make us entirely sure just where it’s heading.