Brian and Charles is a great comedy that's so heartwarming and fun whilst still delivering the necessary emotion that's it's just pure joy to watch. A wholesome film about finding connection with jokes that land a lot more often than they miss thankfully.

David Earl gives an endlessly endearing lead performance with constant optimism and awkwardness that make him extremely watchable and lovable. Chris Hayward is equally endearing as Charles and together they completely sell you on their bond.

Jim Archer's direction is great, the documentary style works surprisingly well and doesn't prevent the film from finding moments of real beauty and it ends just at the right moment. The music by Daniel Pemberton is really good, suitably whimsical and charming.

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.

Brian is a rural loner, junk scavenger, hoarder, handyman, tinkerer, and inventor (the results of which are not commercially viable). At one point he builds a robot, which comes alive and sentient, and accepts the name Charles. While Charles read the dictionary and is a font of knowledge, he is emotionally somewhere between a 3-year-old and a teenager. Charles has about the opposite personality to Brian - inquisitive and adventurous, rather than private and secure. I feel that their relationship is more overprotective parent and child, rather than "friends". While Charles manages to help Brian get a real girl, things get dangerous when he comes to the attention of the town bully.

This is told (at least in part) as a mockumentary, with a brief interchange with a mockmentary crew member about AI, which Brian seems to be hazy about. That is well and good (and needed) when Brian is alone, but where is the crew when he interacts with more people? Also, Brian turns out to be an inadequate parent, giving Charles commands rather than information and reasoning. So these defects push my score down to a 6.

This is a Welsh film, and so has a different sensibility than a stereotype American film. It is more gentle, and even the violence is rather muted, which could be a draw for some people.