A One Mann’s Movies review of “Brian and Charles” (2022).
Filling up another gap in my BAFTA nominations, I missed seeing “Brian and Charles” when it came out last year. Now nominated in the “Outstanding British Film” category, I saw that some people raved about this one. And indeed I enjoyed it greatly and laughed a lot!
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
Brian (David Earl) is a wannabe inventor living alone in the wilds of Wales. His limited communications are with local girl Hazel (Louise Brealey), shopkeeper June (Cara Chase) and (less positively) the local bully-boy Eddie (Jamie Michie) and his ruffian family. But his luck changes when, against all the odds, he manages to invent a sentient android Charles Petrescu (Chris Hayward).
Certification:
UK: PG; US: PG. (From the BBFC: “Mild threat, violence, language”).
Talent:
Starring: David Earl, Chris Hayward, Louise Brealey, Cara Chase, Jamie Michie.
Directed by: Jim Archer.
Written by: David Earl & Chris Hayward.
Twitter Handle: #CharlesPetrescu.
A fine romance between Brian (David Earl) and Hazel (Louise Brealey). (Source: Focus Features).
“Brian and Charles” Review:
Positives:
- The mockumentary style footage works really well, although why exactly a documentary crew would WANT to focus on the lifestyle of a lovable loser like Brian is beyond me!
- For me, this far exceeded the ‘6-laughs’ test for a comedy. It’s comedy at its most absurd: for example, Brian’s flying cuckoo clock so the village residents would know what time it was! I kept being reminded of Ricky Gervais (as a sort of yokel David Brent) in Brian’s asides to the camera crew. (Update: Indeed, I now realise that Earl played another Brian in Gervais’s excellent “After Life”, which probably strengthened the association in my mind). And some of his exchanges with Charles Petrescu (clearly mainly improvised, judging from this very funny gag reel) are hilarious.
- The awkward romance between Brian and Hazel is both cute and touching. This time, I was reminded of his on/off attraction between Peter Kaye’s John and Sian Gibson’s Kayleigh in TV’s “Car Share”.
- I thought that the cinematography of the Welsh countryside, by Murren Tullett, was glorious.
- I also loved the quirky soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton.
Negatives:
- It’s clearly too ridiculous for some tastes. This is apparently a ‘Marmite’ (love it/hate it) type of film, since the illustrious Mrs Movie Man gave this 1-star and declared it to be “the worst film I’ve seen so far this year”!
Monkey?
There’s no monkey in terms of a video clip during or after the end-titles. BUT it is well worth staying through the end-titles to listen to Charles singing the “Charles Petrescu rap”. Very funny indeed!
Summary Thoughts on “Brian and Charles”
I really enjoyed this. A lovely slice of absurd British comedy with – bullying family aside – has a rich vein of warm-heartedness running through it that I found infectious.
This movie is currently available to rent (at a discounted price) on Amazon Prime Video.
Trailer for “Brian and Charles”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JfWZd4CtIE .
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