Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of this Stephen King novella is a life-affirming work
The tagline for The Life of Chuck reads, “Each life is a universe all its own”. It’s a beautiful encapsulation of the film. A poignant, curious, and quietly moving meditation on life, memory, and legacy that feels both deeply intimate and cosmic in scope.
Told in three acts presented in reverse, the story unfolds like a puzzle, slowly revealing the significance of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (a toe-tapping and tender performance from Tom Hiddleston, and) and why the entire world seems to be celebrating him as it falls apart. Act Three opens the film with billboards skywriting tributes, and radio and TV adverts proclaiming “Thanks for 39 Great Years, Chuck”. A strange campaign to wage given that the the end of days is approaching. The Earth is dying. Ravaged by global climate disasters and technological collapse. California has fallen into the sea, and the small American town we center in on, teeters on the brink. Here we meet Felicia (Karen Gillan), a doctor struggling to keep up with a surge of suicides, and Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a schoolteacher and her ex, who clings to the belief that education still matters, even as parents and students give up. Their tender reunion as the chaos surges and the darkness closes in.
Act Two unfolds 9 months earlier, as Chuck indulges in a spontaneous street dance with a heartbroken stranger, sparked by a busking drummer (The Pocket Queen) on the street. This glimpse of a cherished moment gives way to to the final act, the final act, the film’s first, chronologically. Landing with devastating grace, we see the tragedy of Chuck’s childhood (wonderfully played now by Jacob Tremblay and later Benjamin Pajak), as well the the figures and family that informed who he becomes. Notably his grandmother Bubbe Sarah (Mia Sara), who opens up Chuck to the worlds of music and dance, and his grandfather Albie (Mark Hamill). An accountant and man who who loves his grandson, yet is plagued by emotional weight, prone to drink, and when he does so, opens up with the occasional tale about a mysterious locked room in their house, the contents of which has great bearing on all their futures.
A simple synopsis deliberately sidestepping details, hinting at the mystery of the tale, and frankly unable to capture the heart and soul of this film from Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Oculus). Adapted from Stephen King’s novella, it makes yet another phenomenal work that comes from their magical pairing after the critical success of Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. Flanagan has proven an assured storyteller with an assured grasp of finding humanity within his preferred genre of horror.
This is achieved by deft scripting, as well as an embarassment of riches when it comes to the cast. Beyond the measured and moving work of the trio portraying Chuck, the anchoring work of Ejiofor and Gillan, and the rich and loving work of Sarah and Hamill, the Supporting cast packed with talent such as Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, David Dastmalchian, Matthew Lillard, Carl Lumby, and Harvey Guillén, Violet McGraw, Heather Langenkamp, and Samantha Sloyan. Many of them familiar faces from past Flanagan projects, each making the most to the role and time afforded them to make a lingering impact.
While the third (but first) act flits with reflections on where we’re going as a society, the encroachment of technology, and environmental issues, it all encircles this curious mystery about Chuck. The acts that delve into the past deepen this and offer up answers, with connective clues and elements straddling all three eras, resulting in a meaningful echo throughout Chuck’s life. His is a bittersweet tale, but one that is peppered with as much unexpected joy as doom and gloom. That’s how life typically is after all. The film wears its heart on its sleeve. Unabashedly sentimental, yes, but never manipulative. Like King’s The Green Mile or Stand By Me, it’s not about spectacle it’s about soul. And Flanagan, borrowing a line from Walt Whitman, gives us a lead character, and a worldview, that “contains multitudes”. It’s not just about Chuck’s potential as a kid, or the paths opened up to him, it’s about those we touch along the way and however far along we are, we always have the choice to change and to seek out joy in our own lives.
The Life of Chuck is one of those special life-affirming films that comes along every once in a while that leaves you thinking and feeling more deeply. A soothing balm for the soul. Just a perfectly poignant, elegantly uplifting, and wonderfully wrought work from Mike Flanagan.
The Life of Chuck hits select theaters on June 6th and opens wide on June 13th
