The Life of Chuck review: A thought-provoking film about life and death
When you think of Stephen King and Mike Flanagan, your brain probably goes immediately to horror. This is understandable, since they are both synonymous with that genre. However, The Life of Chuck, which Flanagan adapted from King’s 2020 novella, is something quite different entirely.
This fantasy drama is unique and unusual, and the complete opposite of typical studio fare. Like the book, the film depicts three acts in the life of Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz, an accountant with a love of dancing. The chapters are presented in reverse chronological order, starting with Chuck at 39 (Tom Hiddleston) and then going backwards to show us his childhood, in which he’s played by Cody Flanagan, Benjamin Pajak and Jacob Tremblay.
The Life of Chuck is a thought-provoking film that makes you think about life, not knowing what’s around the corner and when your best days are behind you. It reminds you to live life to the fullest and make every day count. I know a lot of people found this film incredibly moving but I personally didn’t find it as profound and life-affirming as Flanagan was clearly aiming for. It didn’t emotionally resonate with me for a number of reasons, including the structure, the abrupt ending and the over-reliance on narration.
Let’s dig into the latter criticism a bit more. A lot of the story is told through Nick Offerman‘s narration rather than conventional dialogue within the scene itself. This technique would have been acceptable if it had been used sparingly, but this device is overused throughout the film. The on-screen actors have very little dialogue (except a couple with meaty monologues), Offerman has way too many lines, and the technique flouts the “show, don’t tell” rule. I understand that this sets the film apart from other current movies, but it grated on me after a while.
A lot has been made of the central dance sequence in the film. I love watching people dance on screen, so this was very me. While I loved it, I couldn’t help feeling a little awkward watching Hiddleston start dancing in the middle of the street. It makes more sense once you know more about young Chuck, but we haven’t reached that chapter yet. Regardless, the sequence brought me a lot of joy, even though it randomly comes out of nowhere.
Hiddleston isn’t in this film as much as you’d expect – or big names like Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan – because of the structure and the snapshot nature of the chapters. The Chuck that I connected with most was the 11-year-old version played by Pajak. I loved watching him learn how to dance, teaching his classmates the moonwalk and bust a move at the school dance. He’s adorable!
I enjoyed many parts of The Life of Chuck but found the whole a little underwhelming.
In cinemas from Wednesday 20th August