"Brian and Charles" - Film Review
There’s inherent whimsy in Brian and Charles. It’s impossible not to be charmed as soon as the audience is introduced to Charles (Chris Hayward), the miraculous robot with a mannequin head and a washing machine torso. He’s the invention of Brian (David Earl), a lonely engineer who lives on secluded farmland in rural Wales. He’s made a number of mostly failed inventions and lives an isolated life of boiled cabbage dinners and solo dart games. Brian longs to have someone to share his life with, so he creates Charles who, by some miracle, actually works.
Brian and Charles is the oddball, opposites-attract comedy story that’s been told more than its fair share of times. That’s not to say this genre doesn’t have value. These movies show audiences that leading with empathy and kindness is essential to bettering ourselves and the world around us. Ideally, they have an immense amount of heart that tugs on the heartstrings of the audience.
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Unfortunately, Brian and Charles is missing that ineffable sense of heart. The connection between Brian and Charles lacks power, mostly because the script can’t figure out if Charles should be more child- or dog-like. This confusion creates a disconnect in the relationship that’s supposed to be the central dynamic of the film. Without meaningful examples of Brian and Charles’ impact on each other, the highs and lows of the film are not effectively experienced by the audience.
The film is also presented as a mockumentary for no discernible reason. There has to be a reason this style is used, and that can’t be just because it’s fun to see actors break the fourth wall. The mockumentary angle inserts an elephant into the film. Why is this lonely man in Wales being documented? Who is this team of filmmakers? The longer the film goes without addressing these questions, the harder it is to ignore. Ultimately, the questions go unanswered, and this only adds to the lingering feeling of something being missing from the film.
There are worse ways to spend an afternoon than with Brian and Charles. In the rare moments when everything comes together, the potential of the film is obvious. It’s easy to be beguiled by Charles’ hulking washing machine body as he learns about Honolulu, dances while he cooks, and desperately tries to go for a swim. Unfortunately, that charm cannot sustain a feature-length film.
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