Brian and Charles: Film Review
There have been plenty of films about a man and his robot – but there has been nothing quite like Brian and Charles.
The mockumentary-style comedy follows Brian (David Earl), a man who lives alone in a dilapidated and extremely cluttered cottage in rural Wales. He spends his days creating inventions that either don’t work or have very little use. One day, he decides to build a robot – and to his surprise, his creation Charles (Chris Hayward) comes to life.
But, once Charles learns the vocabulary and how to exist, he decides he wants to expand his horizons and see the world as he is sick of being cooped up in the cottage. He becomes a stroppy, rebellious teenager who is hard to control.
This film is very quirky and offbeat, to begin with, because Brian is an odd chap and he’s talking to the camera about his inventions. Its sense of humour won’t instantly appeal to everyone and some might take some warming up but I found myself laughing straight away and didn’t really stop. It becomes very easy to enjoy the film – and the mockumentary angle becomes less obvious – once Charles is in the picture. Charles is the most cumbersome, awkward-looking and bizarre robot I’ve ever seen and it was so amusing watching him move and talk and do his excited dance.
The spectacle and main source of comedy are Charles but there is a deeper yet more subtle story at play too. Charles provides Brian with the companionship he hasn’t had in a very long time and it helps him gain the confidence to make a human friend in the equally awkward Hazel (Louise Brealey). Naturally, there has to be conflict somewhere and that comes in the form of local bully Eddie (Jamie Michie) and his family – Brian has to learn how to stand up to them if he wants to protect Charles.
My attention dipped a little while Charles was acting like a rebellious child because I thought that went on for too long and could have been cut by 5-10 minutes. The film is only 90 minutes and it felt like a bit longer, possibly because of this repetitive patch.
But those are my only niggles – I ultimately thought Brian and Charles was a lovely and charming but absolutely bonkers tale about friendship.
In cinemas from Friday 8th July