Rent Brian and Charles (2022)

Brian and Charles review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Brian & Charles is the little sci-fi comedy that triumphs with so little. It’s a cute and heartwarming tale about what it means to be human, treating hefty topics of humanity with a light air of simplicity. Think about how charming it is to have a film where a lonely inventor crafts a sentient robot and merely wants to bring joy to the world. This is an adorable little picture if you’re willing to go along for the ride.

Brian is established as a dorky inventor of a small village, mostly keeping to himself. His many inventions on his farm are revealed in a documentary style where cameras follow him around. Though he specializes as a local handyman, he fancies himself a clever man who always thinks up new ideas in his workshop. Sadly, most of his inventions go up in smoke. This happens quite literally when his idea for a flying bike has him scrambling for a fire extinguisher. While sorting through junk piles, he finds enough parts to make himself a robot. It’s uncertain how much experience Brian has with robots but also unimportant. All that matter is that one stormy night leads to his boxy creation of a robot coming to life, choosing the name Charles.

The relationship between Brian and Charles is simplistically sweet. They spend their days exploring the farm and interacting with animals. They spend their evenings boiling cabbage and having dance parties. Brian is reluctant to show him off to the town, given his social anxiety around others. Naturally, Charles’s daring nature inspires Brian to finally talk to that girl he has a crush on and maybe stand up to that bully on another farm. But if Brian is happy, what about Charles? Let’s just say Charles gets the ultimate wish for anyone who wants to learn more about our world.

A film like this works so well due to its dry nature that slowly warms the heart over time. I’ll be honest Brian and Charles's chemistry felt too simplistic at first. After some time, however, you get to know and love these people who only have the best intentions and ultimately want some love in their life. There’s something so perfect about the imperfect design of Charles in this regard. The design of Charles makes him look more like someone’s failed attempt to build a Jim Broadbent android. He wobbles, has no expression, and speaks in a monotone computer voice, making it sometimes difficult to gauge his emotions. And yet he becomes a loveable character for being such a simplistic design restricted from specific displays of affection.

It didn’t occur to me until much later that this is an excellent family film. Based on the premise, I expected a far more adult affair of coming to terms with loneliness and depression for the soggy setting and underdog character. The simplicity of Brian’s character being an eccentric inventor makes him a readable enough character for kids that it can be easy for them to get invested in the tale of a man and his robot. It’s also pleasing that Brian and Charles form a plan to get back at the bully that isn’t just a simple matter of violence. Although it is really funny watching Brian and Charles shoot cabbages at the local bully.

Brian and Charles is certainly not going to be everybody’s cup of tea as far as boy-and-his-robot stories go. The many gags and asides of a robot learning about the world have a relatively standard assembly, sure to be too familiar for many seasoned movie watchers. But what makes this film endure is its overwhelming heart and taking time to stop and smell the roses. Charles can’t exactly smell but does his best with what he’s given.