Brian and Charles

In this dry season, I looked to some dry UK humor to accompany my dry martini. In director Jim Archer's brilliant Brian and Charles, wit and heart are the essential ingredients as small-town Welch citizen Brian (David Earl) is all beard and glasses inventing useless objects like an egg-carrying belt and a flying cuckoo clock, which he launches from a bicycle with disastrous results.

Brian's my kind of eccentric, a quirky introvert lucky to find a lady, Hazel (Louise Brealey), an equally introverted heart who loves Brian for the reasons others find him weird.

With nothing better to do, he creates robot Charles, seven feet of rubber head and box chest and the sarcastic inquisitiveness of a teen waiting for the chance to escape and see the world. Being led around town virtually on a leash, Charles is ready to bolt while retaining a loving attitude toward his maker.

It's a bit of Frankenstein mixed with Iron Giant, peppered with R2-D2 love and C-3PO attitude. The glasses give him a smart impression and the blue eye a sinister suggestion. But he, too, is all heart. As in any summer comedy worth anything, conflict finds its place in the town bully, Eddie (Jamie Michie), attacking meek Brian and his creation.

What happens is not so much a surprise as it is a satisfying resolution fitting a sleepy town enfolded in white clouds, grey days, and simplicity. Murren Tullett's crisp cinematography will convince you to book a flight to Wales, and Daniel Pemberto's energetic electronic score will make you forget Danny Elfman's musical genius but remind you of Pemberto's Spider-Verse compositions.

Daniel and Charles has a soothing, loving humanity to take you out of Top Gun, Jurassic World, and Thor and give you a walking stick to explore little UK towns that contain lo-fi conflict enough for multiverses. One of the best movies of the year and arguably the best so far this summer.

In quirky Brit dramedy "Brian And Charles" oddball 'inventor' David Earl (of Brit tv fame) is lonely living outside a beautiful, rural, but somewhat rough Welsh village - so he builds a full-on AI robot (voiced by co-witer (with Earl) Chris Hayward) out of a washing machine, rubber gloves, a mannequin's head, etc (as you do). As the robot's intellect & character grows & evolves (like an accelerated child's) so does his relationship with Earl as he learns of love (via Louise Brealey), perilousness (via local bullies Jamie Michie, Nina Sosanya & kids) & dreams. It's an undeniably strange little movie that certainly won't appeal to all - but those who 'get' it's weirdness will love it.

This film could really teach the Hollywood, big budget movies a thing or two.

It's the simple tale of a lonely inventor who invents a robot out of what is lying around his dilapidated Welsh farm.

Simply told in a documentary style, the dreariness off the weather and the landscape play alongside the loneliness and awkwardness of our protagonist.

The equally socially awkward love interest is excellently done as is all the acting in the movie. Brian Earl, who steals all the scenes alongside Ricky Gervais in Afterlife and Derek, essentially plays the same character but dialled back a little.

Highly recommended.

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"Brian and Charles will definitely end up as one of the most endearing, funniest, feel-good stories of the whole year. Jim Archer takes David Earl and Chris Hayward's original screenplay and uses their extraordinary, amusing performances to bring to life a narrative about true friendship and authentic human connections.

The light humor consistently forces the audience to let go of strong, loud laughs, either through genuinely hilarious interactions between the two protagonists or using physical comedy and brilliant song selection.

It may not be never-seen-before content or as inventive as expected, but it manages to deliver a memorable, entertaining, heartfelt story with beautiful messages.

A must-watch!"

Rating: A-

I was trying to kill some time and take a little break from a boring conference I was attending. There was multiplex cinema next door to conference center and the film "Brian and Charles" was playing there. I had no idea what the film was about but decided to go on impulse. Wow, I couldn't be more delighted with what I experienced. It is a charming film about a relationship between a man and a robot he invented. It is funny and heartwarming with wonderful performances and beautiful cinematography depicting the rugged land and stark beauty of Wales.

The humor in the film is subtle and refreshingly clever. The main characters are well developed and believable. In short if you need a little pick me up and a feel good experience I cannot recommend this little film enough.