Brian & Charles

[The Ombudsman]

No, I think it's just a preview at Vue cinemas tomorrow only. Not sure how wide it will open in July, but it won't be at just Vue cinemas.

Good! This will be the first film I've seen in a cinema I think in 5 years.

[BritishHobo]

I went to the Vue screening in the end, and god I'm glad I did. Not going to say much about it yet for spoilers, but I'm not sure I've had as joyful a cinema experience in a long time. Just sitting there front-row and seeing lovely Brian Gittins on the big-screen made me so unexpectedly happy. Massive grin on my face like a kid seeing their first film.

Fuck it was good.

[BritishHobo]

Based on the trailer I do fear this has the mawkish hand of Gervais involved in proceedings: Kind man wins the day.

There was an appealing nihilism about the older short. Seems to have been well received, so I guess we'll see.

I worried about this, but I think Gittins is such a fundamentally intriguing and warm character with his little mannerisms that it's impossible to have the same cloying insincerity as Gervais' stuff. There's none of the cynical laying-on of "this is the kindest and most selfless man in the world".

[Ron Superior]

Just got back from watching this. What a lovely film. No real surprises, the plot is pretty much what you expect, but it's warm and really funny, it looks beautiful and is just an absolute joy. The emotion Chris can get out of Charles with just a slight turn of that stupid mannequin's head is brilliant.

Can't wait to watch it again, so worth the wait. Lovely.

[BritishHobo]

I quite like that there are getting to be as many alternate Brian Gittinses as there are Spider-Men or Batmen. You have the '70s cafe owner Brian in Cemetery Junction, the taxi driver Brian in Gittins, the comedian and podcaster, the hoarder/puppeteer Brian in Afterlife, and now this remote Welsh inventor Brian.

[DrGreggles]

There's a podcast (or possibly video) on its way soon where David (and I think Chris and Jim) are interviewed about the film by David Edwards.

[BritishHobo]

I've jumped back on his Patreon again after taking a break last year to save money. Delighted to see there's a fair few other David Edwards podcasts for me to catch up on (and I've not listened to any Chatabix yet either).

[DrGreggles]

There's a podcast (or possibly video) on its way soon where David (and I think Chris and Jim) are interviewed about the film by David Edwards.

Just landed on Patreon

[Ron Superior]

I've jumped back on his Patreon again after taking a break last year to save money. Delighted to see there's a fair few other David Edwards podcasts for me to catch up on (and I've not listened to any Chatabix yet either).

David Edwards has also just started his own podcast with Ben who played "David" on the Cockfields called Metro Retro where they go through old copies of the Metro. Just 2 episodes so far but it's good fun, and lovely to hear from the Blonde Banshee. 

[kalowski]

This looks delightful! I really want to see this.
Just watched the trailer with my daughter and started welling up, but don't think it will be mawkish, just delightful.

[Ron Superior]

This looks delightful! I really want to see this.
Just watched the trailer with my daughter and started welling up, but don't think it will be mawkish, just delightful.

Yeah, to echo what BritishHobo mentioned above, it does veer perilously close to it at points, but through skilful handling and just sheer genuine heart and likeability they do avoid it. It's ridiculous that you root a million times more for a fucking washing machine with legs in this film than you do for a grieving widower in After Life, but here we are.

[DrGreggles]

There's a podcast (or possibly video) on its way soon where David (and I think Chris and Jim) are interviewed about the film by David Edwards.

On the Brian Gittins and Friends feed now.

[Beep Cleep Chimney]

Just back from seeing this.  What a lovely little film. 
I bloody love Charles Petrescu.
Spotted David Edwards at the end.  (Thought he had an actual line of dialogue but it appears to have been cut type of thing.)

[JamesTC]

Wish it wasn't a mockumentary. The Gervais grins to camera really pulled me out of it.

Love Charles.

[BritishHobo]

Saw this again last night at a local independent cinema. Delighted to hear everyone constantly laughing and gasping. Noticed this morning that it's also playing at Cineworld, so I've booked a ticket with my Unlimited card, hoping that bumps up the numbers.

My partner adored the film so I'm now desperately trying to find which episodes of the Spreaker show I called in on so I can show off what a cool, ahead-of-the-curve guy I am.

[ImmaculateClump]

This is available for those who don't like going to the pictures. Haven't watched it yet but got it the other night.

[DrGreggles]

My partner adored the film so I'm now desperately trying to find which episodes of the Spreaker show I called in on so I can show off what a cool, ahead-of-the-curve guy I am.

I've got most (if not all) of them somewhere.
I'll dig them out and upload them.

[BritishHobo]

That's kind of you to offer! I've got them downloaded as well, but never got around to properly organising them so have no real way of knowing which ones I called in on. Cheers for the offer though, much appreciated all the same.

If you do happen to have the episodes 'Mellow Show' and 'I feel dead' that were aired Jan 1st 2013 and deleted not long after, that would be amazing. I've long resigned myself to the fact that those two are probably gone forever though.

[Jittlebags]

Mark Commode had it as his film of the week.

[Replies From View]

I worried about this, but I think Gittins is such a fundamentally intriguing and warm character with his little mannerisms that it's impossible to have the same cloying insincerity as Gervais' stuff. There's none of the cynical laying-on of "this is the kindest and most selfless man in the world".

Whenever I see Gittins, I can't shake Earl's horrible sex-pest character from Derke (who, as well as being completely misjudged on every level, did have a couple of cloying moments to camera about unabashedly kind Derke is). 

It's unfortunate, but he didn't even try to come up with a different character for it so Gittins is tainted.

[DrGreggles]

Serves you right for watching Derke

[PlanktonSideburns]

Strong point

[BritishHobo]

Whenever I see Gittins, I can't shake Earl's horrible sex-pest character from Derke (who, as well as being completely misjudged on every level, did have a couple of cloying moments to camera about unabashedly kind Derke is). 

It's unfortunate, but he didn't even try to come up with a different character for it so Gittins is tainted.

I have been thinking about this in the wake of the film, and I do find it fascinating. Whenever Earl does Gittins in his own projects (aside from the odd bit in his stand-up, but even then it was rare), there's no sex stuff, no weird gags about fat women, no seediness or edginess. Just affable warmness, a lovely, idiosyncratic bloke who's a bit crap at whatever he tries but is otherwise likable. But then, as you mention, whenever he does the character in a Gervais project, it always has this horrible edge to it. What little I saw of After Life, Brian's character is all about weird stuff about his wife fucking blokes in car parks or whatever. It's absolute night and day, and it's so odd. Like a complete alternate-universe Brian. I don't know whether Earl has any contribution to the writing of After Life (beyond improv), but it does feel like that version comes from a fundamentally different comic sensibility to his solo stuff.

I would urge you to give Brian and Charles a chance if you can. It's so sincere and earnest, I can't imagine Gervais writing anything like it in a million years.

[UltimoLJ]

I did have a bit of a problem with it having the emotional complexity in the latter third of a primary school production - but there was loads of it to enjoy. As someone has mentioned, the puppeteering of Charles is constantly brilliant physical comedy, and a delight.

[lipsink]

Yeah, I loved this. It feels like it could well become a cult classic. It's also the kind of film I'd reckon kids will love too.

[sevendaughters]

this is on at normal cinemas here all week. I don't really know Gittins at all tbh but the film looks interesting on merit and it's too 'ot to go out.

[sevendaughters]

OK - I went to see it. I have no history with Gittins so I took it all at face value, really. I quite liked it and thought it good-natured and melancholy, and there was definitely an underlying tumult to Brian that carried the nervous tics past the merely Gervaisian (though it is there, though one might tediously argue Brian is looking at the director/cameraman rather than down the lens). The decision to shoot in Wales in autumn gives the film a nice lived-in look that digital sometimes flattens. Charles is the star, though.

If I were pedantic I'd say when the film switches to a more trad narrative, it forgets that it is a documentary. I understand why, and the film isn'treally a documentary, but I do think that it not being one and the camera just being the omnipresent observer would have served it better (though I suppose Brian on his own isn't as 'funny').

It is light and a bit slight but I enjoyed it. I presume there's years of backstory and media to this rather than it being a film out of nothing?

[Ron Superior]

If I were pedantic I'd say when the film switches to a more trad narrative, it forgets that it is a documentary. I understand why, and the film isn'treally a documentary, but I do think that it not being one and the camera just being the omnipresent observer would have served it better (though I suppose Brian on his own isn't as 'funny').

I was cooking up a theory while watching it that there isn't actually a documentary crew there at all and it's all in Brian's head. The only real interaction anyone else has with it that I noticed is when Sunil Patel briefly looks at the camera at one point. Not sure if I missed anything else

It is light and a bit slight but I enjoyed it. I presume there's years of backstory and media to this rather than it being a film out of nothing?

Really not much. A Spreaker show of Brian's that Charles would sometimes appear on, then a brilliant chat podcast with them both, both of which have no backstory, then the short film from about 4 years ago.

[BritishHobo]

Yeah, the fun thing about it is that despite there being hours and hours of audio stuff with the two characters, this is completely standalone and independent in terms of the story and dynamic.

I also was a bit iffy about the fact that the mockumentary style feels like it's dropped; although somebody pointed out to me that he stops talking directly to the camera crew as he gains his confidence and starts engaging more with other people, which I really liked.

[DrGreggles]

They talked about that at Sundance.
There was an American documentary that Jim Archer had seen that started off as a standard documentary, drifts away from that, then has a moment at the end that makes you go "oh yeah, it's a documentary".
So it was very deliberate.