Mike Flanagan and Stephen King have very often been a hit pair. Both men are considered greats of Horror in their own fields. When those two combine one often expects a great horror flick. But The Life Of Chuck is something very different to both their usual works. This is a very grounded and sentimental story, and Flanagan assembled quite the cast to bring it to the screen.
We have Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill, and a number of Flanagan’s usual collaborators which I’ll leave out of this list for you to enjoy the surprises yourselves. Flanagan wrote the script himself, and at the premiere, he revealed how he read the novella during the pandemic and how it immediately connected to him and that’s when he knew that he needed to tell this story.
The story is set in the future where there are catastrophes in every direction and there’s not much to hold on to for any of our characters. The story is told in a reverse structure, and starts with act three subtitled “Thanks Chuck”. We open with Marty (Ejiofor) trying to reconnect with his ex-wife (Gillan) as they suddenly start seeing an image of a smiling man with a caption that says “39 great years, Thanks Chuck!”. They see it everywhere and wonder who this seemingly ordinary man is.
Each act focuses on different characters in different time periods, giving the narrative an anthology-esque feel. Tom Hiddleston does play the titular character of Charles Krantz, however, you can argue that screentime-wise he’s not truly the lead here. Jacob Tremblay and Benjamin Pajak play younger iterations of Chuck, and Pajak probably gets a little more screen time than Tom. Pajak on the other hand shines much more.
Everyone else was decent as well. But I want to rave about that Dance number. There is a long musical number with Tom and it is by far the best part of the movie. Music and dancing are a big part of the narrative and of Chuck’s arc. While music is the one theme that is consistently there throughout, others come in and out irregularly. At times we talk extensively about the cosmic calendar, then we talk about companionship, then about math, and so on.
If you take a look at the monologues individually, there’s a lot in them that will fascinate you but they just don’t come together to support the story. Another inconsistent aspect is its supporting characters. There are so many characters that hardly get half a dozen scenes, so we never get to fully connect with them. But on a positive note, there is some good humor in here and a very strong message of optimism and living the best life that you can. The message and specifically the theme of joy is so apparent and strong that it may be enough for some to leave satisfied and charmed by the end of it, but I was not in that boat.
The Life Of Chuck is an earnest attempt at an existential and heartfelt drama that may not compel, but it will definitely leave you charmed. The reverse structure is a bright idea but the story doesn’t fully justify the swing. This will be one of the most polarising films of the festival this year, but for me this one landed on the weaker side of Flanagan’s filmography. But it’s worth a watch just for that spectacular dance number.
The Life Of Chuck premiered at the Toronto International FIlm Festival 2024.
