BRIAN AND CHARLES |
★★☆☆☆
25 June 2022
A movie review of BRIAN AND CHARLES.
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Director: Jim Archer.
Starring: David Earl, Chris Hayward, Louise Brealey, Jamie Michie, Nina Sosanya.
“Would you like me to give you a name?” Brian (David Earl)
This movie is annoying. Quirkiness is dialled up to 11. This faux-mockumentary Brit comedy feels like an unfleshed out outline where cast and crew had to improvise without any preparation. It was a chore to sit through. (Contrast another odd couple android-human comedy from a decade ago, ROBOT & FRANK [2012].) Humans and A.I. pals have a long cinematic history, from TERMINATOR 2 [1991] to MOON [2009] and THE IRON GIANT [1999]. Any new story should bring something fresh.
Starring: David Earl, Chris Hayward, Louise Brealey, Jamie Michie, Nina Sosanya.
“Would you like me to give you a name?” Brian (David Earl)
This movie is annoying. Quirkiness is dialled up to 11. This faux-mockumentary Brit comedy feels like an unfleshed out outline where cast and crew had to improvise without any preparation. It was a chore to sit through. (Contrast another odd couple android-human comedy from a decade ago, ROBOT & FRANK [2012].) Humans and A.I. pals have a long cinematic history, from TERMINATOR 2 [1991] to MOON [2009] and THE IRON GIANT [1999]. Any new story should bring something fresh.
Starting with Brian in his Welsh farm workshop, his loneliness is palpable. “I was very low” he tells the documentary crew. Piqued, one wondered whether this would be a welcome character study on lockdown and post-pandemic life. Unfortunately not. The audience learns little about Brian’s past, his family, and how his personality formed. Also, why have fly-on-the-wall filmmakers chosen him as a subject? One might forgive all this sloppiness if the end result intrigued and beguiled. BRIAN AND CHARLES opts for the twee instead of insight.
Brian is eccentrically grating. He has a bin specifically for cabbages. We all enjoy eating cabbage, right? But mention of such a receptacle demonstrates the lazy temperament-building. The focus on the film is Brian as inventor. He concocts bizarre, pointless inventions, e.g. trawler nets for shoes, a belt that holds raw eggs, etc. The creative team here seem to want us to think Brian is charming. The catalogue of idiosyncrasies, without behavioural analysis, is not winsome in this situation. Are there underlying mental health issues at play, or is it crushing isolation?
What does Brian do for a living? Is he a farmer? We don’t see him actually working, bar performing a single handyman odd job. Brian leaps from contriving the unnecessary to masterminding artificial intelligence. His motivation is having someone to play darts with. Made predominantly from a washing machine and a mannequin’s head, the newly birthed Charles (Chris Hayward) learns all about human nature through just reading a dictionary. That’s it. The robot creation is naff without being amusing.
The dramatic tension comes from:
- the need for secrecy because of the local bully Eddie (Jamie Michie),
- Charles eventually wanting to leave the nest, and
- a will-they-won’t-they potential romance with a local lady, Hazel (Louise Brealey).
The burgeoning affection of two shy people for each other is a minor highlight. We wait for them to stand up for themselves. They are all of us who feel powerless at certain points in our lives.
Peril comes from Eddie. Why aren’t the police called to deal with Eddie’s aggression towards the community and his thievery? Is the film offering political commentary on lack of trust in light of scandal, or government cuts leading to understaffed public services? BRIAN AND CHARLES is vapid, so who knows?
This is meant to be funny and poignant and uplifting, but is just tiring. Early on, Brian asks the documentary crew, “Is this interesting?”. No.