Brian and Charles review: Quirky sci-fi comedy is both heartwarming and hilarious

Brian and Charles is a comedy that’s as weird and wonderful as the robot at its heart. Revolving around the friendship that forms between said machine and the man who built him, it’s a heartwarming tale that tells a big story on a tiny budget.

Brian and Charles started out as a 12-minute short directed by Jim Archer and written by David Earl and Chris Heyward, who also play that strange central duo.

A mockumentary – though it’s never explained why somebody is filming Brian – the feature extends and expands on the short. But the themes remain the same, the movie exploring loneliness and depression, but with a lo-fi, sci-fi bent.

That said, the film never takes itself too seriously, and even when it slaloms between genres, Brian and Charles remains light, silly, and consistently hilarious.

What is Brian and Charles about?

Earl plays Brian, a lonely soul who lives on his own in a cottage in the unforgiving Welsh countryside. It’s grey, wet, and cold outside his house. While inside a sense of sadness and depression fills the rooms.

Brian makes a living doing odd jobs, but other than that he leads a pretty solitary existence. He grows, boils, and eats cabbages. And in one of the film’s most heartbreaking scenes, plays darts by himself, a smile on Brian’s face, but sadness in his eyes.

Brian has a host of ideas in his head, however, so one day, starts making stuff. From a pine-cone bag and egg belt to a trawler net for shoes, his inventions aren’t the most practical. While a flying cuckoo clock nearly kills him. But they keep Brian busy. And one day, true inspiration strikes.

Meet Charles Petrescu

While scavenging for parts, Brian finds a head in some rubbish. Not a human head mind, but a detached mannequin’s bonce. “I’m building a robot,” he explains when he gets home. “Don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

After a couple of false starts, Brian is done, and without feeling the need to explain how, his creation comes to life. The machine is an awkward fellow, so tall he has to constantly bend, and with a washing machine for a tummy. He’s equally as eccentric. The first thing he does is steal some cabbages. Then read the dictionary. Then finally name himself Charles Petrescu.

Charles speaks with a cut-glass English accent, but plays and dances around like a toddler. Indeed, the questions he asks – like “How far does the outside go?” and “Can birds do what they like” – are both childish, and strangely profound. Making Charles an intriguing, and extremely likeable fellow.

Protecting Charles

The less-than-dynamic duo aren’t totally isolated in their home, as there’s a local village, filled with characters who clearly care from Brian. From a friendly local shopkeeper who gives him damaged chocolate, to Hazel (the brilliant Louise Brealey), a shy local on whom he clearly has a crush.

But there’s also a family of full of bullies who strike fear into Brian’s heart. So when there’s a knock at his door, and Brian thinks it might be them, the threat feels tangible, and the tension is real.

His efforts to protect his Charles become that much more difficult when the robot starts acting like a surly teen. Charles gets an attitude, starts listening to heavy metal, and develops a weird obsession with Hawaii, all of which makes Brian ever more stressed.

That tension builds as the stakes rise, then the film takes a couple of unexpected turns, first into drama, and then even more bizarrely into action. But by this point it’s wise to expect the unexpected from Brian and Charles.

The Verdict: Is Brian and Charles good?

As while the genre changes and the tone shifts, Brian and Charles never loses sight of what it is: a film about finding friendship in the most unexpected places.

David Earl delivers a deeply affecting performance as Brian, somehow being both sad and optimistic throughout the film. While Chris Heyward is good as Charles, I think. He certainly makes a fine comedy foil for his friend.

Their bond – and the bond the Brian slowly starts to form with Hazel – lie at the heart of the movie. With Brian and Charles ultimately about making a connection, and how those connections can give life meaning. As sometimes, we just need someone to help us boil cabbages, or join us for a game of darts.

Brian and Charles is in cinemas now. For more TV & movies news, reviews, and interviews, click here.