Brian and Charles

Title: Brian and Charles
Director: Jim Archer
Released: 2022
Starring: David Earl, Chris Hayward, Louise Brealy, Lowri Izzard, Mari izzard, Nina Sosanya, Jamie Michie

Plot: Mockumentary following Brian (Earl) a cabbage farmer and keen inventor as he sets out to build himself a robot friend

Review: Building upon his 2017 short film of the same name here director Eric Appel makes his feature length debut with a mockumentary following the socially awkward Brian who lives in a small village in rural Wales were he passes the time making questionable inventions in his shed like a flying cuckoo clock and an egg belt but what he wants is a friend and if you can’t make a friend why not build one.

Playing like Short Circuit in the valley’s this quirky comedy is certainly big in heart as Brian builds his robot friend Charles out of scrap using a washing machine for the torso and a mannequin head it’s a ramshackle creation that somehow manages to work much like Appel getting the audience to buy into this touching friendship between the pair as Brian teaches Charles about the world while finding the friendship he’s been missing. But the more Charles learns about the world the more he wants to see leading the pair in a parent / teenager style conflict especially with Brian is content with his small village life. 

David Earl, a regular collaborator of Ricky Gervais’ acting trope here co-writes the screenplay with Chris Hayward (who also provides the voice of Charles) really is fantastic as a Brian who for some unexplained reason is the subject of interest for the documentary crew whose film frames the story. By having the film shot as a mockumentary it provides his character someone to interact with especially when his life in this tiny village is isolated to begin with. Equally it’s through these interactions the quirky humour really shines and thankfully free of the awkwardness which blighted Napoleon Dynamite.

There is a touching bromance between robot and creator that runs through the film as the pair play house, throw darts and share a weird love of cabbage all while Brian shows an E.T. esq worry about the locals finding out about Charles. While the stakes of the film are certainly low it does throw in an element of danger with Brian’s loutish bully of a neighbour Eddie (Michie) whose yearly bonfire has a hint of rural horror to it, especially as he plans to burn Charles on top of it. Ultimately coming in the final quarter and serving as the final push Brian needs to break out of his timid shell that much like his relationship with the equally shy and softly spoken local girl Hazel (Brealey) it’s easy to see the direction things are going to go from a mile off. 

While extending a short into a feature is never going to be easy especially if the material is limited in scope but the tight runtime and charming relationship between Brian and Charles along with the odd but harmless nature of Brian make it an enjoyable watch that doesn’t overplay its hand.