‘Brian and Charles’ Review: Quirky British Mockumentary About an Unsuccessful Inventor and His Homemade Robot Is Sweetly Optimistic
variety.comTomris Laffly “I was very low,” we hear lonesome inventor (and cabbage enthusiast) Charles’ voiceover say at the start of Jim Archer’s “Brian and Charles,” a textured, melancholic and eccentrically funny mockumentary set in a remote corner of North Wales.
With the camera luring the audience into his charmingly cluttered country-home workshop straight out of a storybook, Charles thoughtfully continues to reflect on some topsy-turvy circumstances he’s battled with in his past and how inventing original tools and gadgets was the calling that helped him reclaim his life.If only Charles was actually making something marketable or even remotely useful.
But despite mostly creating impractical junk that no one in his town wants — like a cabbage bin, a pinecone bag, a belt to carry eggs, a nonsensical puzzle made of ping pong balls and a ridiculous flying clock that crash-lands during a hysterical test run — Charles still stares into the camera with a subtly proud smile.
So what if he isn’t exactly Nikola Tesla? Isn’t it the effort and imagination that counts? Those who have previously seen Archer’s 2017 “Brian and Charles” short, which also stars David Earl (as Brian) and Chris Hayward (as Charles), will already come to this modest film with a deep affection for Brian and his rubbish handiwork, joyously featured amid Hannah Purdy Foggin’s playful production design.
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