Hello everybody and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will looking at a film that generated quite a bit of buzz late last year after it premiered at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and won the audience favorite award. That is usually a pretty big indicator of a film’s awards potential, and while I don’t think Life of Chuck has the momentum now to get to that level, I was still intrigued as the reviews were very good, the cast is filled with actors I like watching, and it is directed by none other than Mike Flanagan. Ever since he came onto the scene in 2011 with his debut film, Absentia, he has made quite a name for himself in the horror genre, being behind several acclaimed features over the past couple of years with the likes of Oculus, Hush, and Doctor Sleep among others. He has also been behind many popular Netflix series to the point where he is a brand unto himself for the streamer with such programs like The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, The Fall of the House of Usher, and more. With this adaptation of Stephen King’s novella though, he steps a bit outside of his horror wheel house, tackling what has been described a science fiction drama that also serves as an affirmation of life. It’s one of those movies where I just had to know what exactly this was and now having finally witnessed it, what did I make of it? Let’s jump right in and see if Chuck was worth thanking!
The story is told in three acts and is in reverse order. The first act (or Act 3) concerns a teacher named Marty Anderson and his perspective during what is seemingly the end of the world. The loss of internet is constant and there are natural disasters happening all over the world. We follow him pondering what this all means and seeing if can reconnect with his ex, Felicia. There’s also some sort of connection to an accountant on a billboard commercial named Chuck. Act 2 focuses on Chuck and a little episode in his life where he is in Boston for a banking conference and ends up forming an unlikely bond with some young souls. Finally, Act 1 concerns Chuck’s upbringing as a child and his relationship with his grandparents after the death is parents and unborn little sister. All three acts would go on to connect in interesting ways.
This is definitely one of those films that may have people confounded from a conceptual perspective as it does play around with narrative conventions and is a bit of a genre bender with how it incorporates both an apocalyptic genre as well as a coming of age story. However, for those who are willing to get on it’s wave length, it is an extremely rewarding journey that I absolutely loved. I thought the decision to tell this story backwards worked perfectly in my eyes as the first act does a fantastic job of teasing who this Chuck is and with each act we learn more about him and why certain things are the way they are. I’d say the it is my favorite of the three acts due to how it goes about portraying the end of the world from the perspective of this one individual and how it would be like for people if they lost the ability to access the internet and whether it is possible to go back to living in the times before it. It’s quite a mournful, yet poignant watch that manages to strike a balance of being quite unsettling at times, yet deeply thought provoking and emotionally resonant at the same time (like the best King stories). The second act serves as a nice, brief reprieve from the heaviness in the beginning, presenting a very fun escapade, while also serving as the most uplifting part of the film as we see Chuck embracing the beauties of life in the most simplest of scenarios. This is where the most life affirmation is and despite it being the shortest of the acts, it still manages to leave an impact and inform us more about Chuck as a character.
That then leads to the final act, which shows his upbringing and it ends up working as an emotionally powerful bookend that brings everything into a new light. It works as a great coming of age story that is often quite sad in how it shows the harsh realities of Chuck’s life, losing people in his life and being judged for his interests which makes the moments of him enjoying himself all the more fulfilling. Everything just then comes together beautifully by the end and there is honestly a lot one can interpret, based on when you look at the story as a whole (I myself have a few in mind). I also do appreciate that as much as the film can be this celebration of life, it is also quite darker when one looks deeper into it, as many of the characters use these moments as a way to cope with the grim circumstances they are often presented with and in the end the movie argues that there may not be a solution to make it completely better, but try to take advantage of life while one can.
Flanagan of course handles all of this excellently, showcasing immense talent at being able handle such a genre bender. What I love about his direction here, is just how personal it is in regards to getting us into the mindset of these characters. Close ups are used frequently and the small scale nature of the film despite some big events going down at on a larger canvas, helps make the film very intimate and allows us to get a sense of what these people feel and make their situations even more impactful, cause we see the full extent the effect they have on them whether it is a happy scenario or outright doomsday occurring right before our eyes. While not a horror film, there are a handful of scenes that can be eerie or downright unsettling whether it’s just a shot of someone looking at an room or the sky changing. Given, Flanagan’s experience with frights, he does manage to get across some great ones in a movie that’s not exactly that and he throws in some compelling symbolism here and there to get across some meanings (the holograms of Chuck that appear at one point are a good example of this. Credit also goes to Ebon Bolter’s cinematography and The Newton Brothers’s music for helping in conveying so many different elements successfully and in a way that isn’t distracting. Hell, there are multiple dance sequences in this film and they fit very well in the context of the scenes and Chuck’s character, but they involve some exceptional choreography and are quite a sight to watch, which I did not expect.
Considering the title of the film, it is no surprise that Chuck is a large part of it, but for those expecting a Tom Hiddleston vehicle, you will be disappointed as he’s really only a big part in the second act (the shortest of the three). Now he does a lot with limited dialogue, selling the character’s awkwardness wonderfully and giving nice hints as to what we learn later on, but we really spend more time with his younger versions played by Cody Flanagan (7 year old Chuck), Benjamin Pajak (11 year old), and Jacob Tremblay (17 year old) who all due a great job in conveying Chuck’s naivete, smartness, childlike wonder, and sadness beautifully (like they say in the film, he has multitudes). Considering what we know from the beginning, it’s fascinating learning the context of certain things about him and why he acts the way he does in the second act. There is much to mine regarding childhood trauma and how one is shaped by their environment, in this case growing up without his parents and being raised by a someone who wants a specific path for him. Him learning to focus on living his life definitely life affirming and satisfying to watch, even if there a lot of darker implications involved considering where we know he ends up and how it gives the ending a more complicated meaning in regards to refusing to acknowledge the troublesome aspects in our lives and the toll it can take emotionally.
If anything though, Chiwetel Ejiofor is the one who has the most screentime as Marty in the first act and he is terrific per usual playing a fully three dimensional character witnessing the end of the world, but struggling to come to terms with it. He tries to go on like life is normal until everything around him begins to change, and even then it feels like it’s not registering in the way it should despite all of the things he is witnessing. As the story goes one, we see everything truly set in on him and he comes to open up about just how scared he is. It’s a terrific performance that anchors this part of the film very well. Karen Gillian is also great as Felicia, who brings to life the fear and confusion that the character is facing and she has some truly lovely scenes with Ejiofor where one can buy why they may still be attracted to one another. One thing I love about the cast here is that so many of them just have one or two scenes that are nonetheless incredibly rich in dialogue and they make the most of every minute. Carl Lumbly is a huge stand out here as an elderly mortician named Sam who bring some nice warmth to the proceedings and has his own interesting musings on life and the way his character ended up connecting to Chuck was neat. The likes of Annalise Basso, Taylor Gordon, and Kate Siegel all play key roles in Chuck’s life and have some stand out scenes that speak to what the movie is trying to say. Plus while he’s not in the film a lot, Matthew Lillard has one of the best scenes in the film as Marty’s neighbor, Gus, whose monologue about the world ending and how it is like grief, made for one of my favorites of the year so far.
Two other fantastic performances come from Mia Sara and Mark Hamill (always a pleasure, of course) as Chuck’s grandparents, Sarah and Albie. The former does a wonderful job of trying to keep things upbeat for Chuck despite what her and the family have gone through and she brings a pleasant and vibrant presence. The latter gives in a phenomenal performance that has a lot to it. Hamill is able to strike an excellent balance of being a kind and caring grandfather who wants his kid to succeed, but also a deeply troubled individual who has regrets from his past and often doesn’t know how to deal with them. He also has an engrossing monologue that pertains to the overlooked miracle of math that makes it sound absolutely thrilling and life changing, that one may be able to appreciate it more (if not want to practice it more). We also get some solid narration from Nick Offerman that succeeds in providing the necessary details about the characters and provides some solid dry humor as Offerman is known for.
On the whole, I found myself deeply compelled by The Life of Chuck and found it to be an absolutely incredible feature. It’s story structure is masterfully executed, the messaging is interesting and layered, it’s fascinating to watch how the proceedings unfold, it is extremely well made, it has some rich character work, and the performances are fantastic. For those who are fans of Flanagan’s work and love a great character study, this is as an easy recommendation from me. It may not be for everyone, but I absolutely loved it and feel like it is a film I see myself re visiting often in the future. It speaks to the joys and harsh realities of life in such thoughtful ways that it will likely stick with me for a while. Flanagan once again proves himself to be an immense talent and a talent that I will always continue to keep an eye out when it comes to new projects. The film speaks a lot about multitudes and the worlds we have in our minds. I’m glad this film gets to be a part of it!
Rating: A+
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 