Brian and Charles
Feature developed from Jim Archer's short Brian and Charles (2017), which screened at SXSW in 2017.,Charles: You built my body.
Brian: I built his body.
Charles: And my tummy is a washing machine.
Brian: And his tummy is a washing machine.,Featured in EE BAFTA Film Awards (2023),High Rollers
Written by Robert David Simpson
Performed by Robby D and Heli Sterner,Brian and Charles, despite the science fiction vibe that would seem evident from it's premise, is really a wholly gentle semi-fantasy (with a very loose documentary framing that comes and goes as it pleases) about what ups downs come to becoming a parent.

The analogy is up front and obvious, right down to Charles creating child-like drawings of his slightly eccentric creator Brian and his cabbages, and then into his, ahem, "teenage" years where he locks himself in his room to mope and listen to loud heavy metal when Brian won't let him outside. It's also about how sometimes you just can't let the bullies of the world push you around anymore and using one's imagination is the only salvation.

That makes it sound potentially heavier than this all is, when in reality Jim Asher in his debut has crafted a light comedy that could be appealing to families (or ones that aren't averse to Welsh accents and dreary rural backdrops), and it's often quite funny, mostly early on as we get to learn who Brian is and how he's just constantly inventing and creating this and that (the town bully's daughters want Brian to make them the same Pine-Cone tote bag he's made, because who wouldn't want one I guess), but also how deadpan Charles is when making his demands to go see this or that or create his Hawaiian costume to go off to Honolulu.

Again, nothing about how this unfolds matters much for the seeming sci-fi trappings, and that's actually fine: I'd prefer if it's going to be about the characters and how they grow and bond with each other for that to be genuine, and Brian and Charles is certainly that. I mentioned the docu-style set up, and why exactly this crew is following this man in this environment is hard to figure, and that plus the filmmakers using it or not using it depending on what the scene entails makes things a bit shaggy and inconsistent stylistically (ie how there are good two-camera set ups often enough to not miss anything, or when things are leading to the climactic showdown between Brian and Eddy). And if you think more deeply about other implications, like what Eddy and his bully family want to do with Charles, it could be questionable.

But if you're just watching for this little idiosyncratic world, it's a sweet story that brings you along that is anchored especially by the appealing performances of David Earl (with those perpetually kind eyes and perfectly but pleasantly shlubby countenance) and Chris Hayward (coming for Anthony Daniels crown for best uptight british android voice), who also wrote the piece. It's the movie equivalent of a nice slice of pie, and sometimes that's all I want.,