I’d tell you Life of Chuck is a real crowd pleaser, but the TIFF People’s Choice Award speaks for itself. Honestly though, this movie is so much more than just a crowd pleaser. Mike Flanagan has stepped outside of his horror comfort zone, to deliver a beautifully profound, emotionally resonant film that explores and celebrates life.
Horror with heart is the best way I can describe most of Flanagan’s work. The dramatic elements - whether that be family, romance or grief, always provide an emotionally rich substance to accompany the chills. Life of Chuck takes those familiar emotional beats and builds a horror-free film out of them. He’s once again adapting Stephen King’s work, but this is a very different kind of collaboration. There are still horror adjacent moments, and the first act feels more akin to science fiction, but this is first and foremost a drama over anything else.
This film is funny, meaningful and far more joyous than anything Flanagan has done before. It’s an ambitious and profound look at how fleeting life can be, and the small joys we experience throughout. It’s split into three chapters told in reverse, and will leave you pondering how the bigger picture comes together in the end. It doesn’t feed the audience definitive answers, but will likely still strike a few meaningful chords with everyone. Its reach occasionally exceeds its grasp attempting to tie everything together thematically, but the emotional impact I was left with far outweighed any narrative qualms.
The ensemble is a collection of new faces, as well as many of Flanagan’s regular players, which I personally love. This is stacked cast with stellar performances across the board. Karen Gillan and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in the first act, which, for a long time feels totally removed from the rest of the story. Aside from a few billboard photos and television commercials, we don’t even see Tom Hiddleston until act two, but he makes the most out of his limited time in the story. His expressiveness will make you smile and break your heart - oh, and his 7 minute dance number is worth the price of admission alone.
When everything’s gone down the drain in life, all we can say is “that sucks”. This film certainly doesn’t, though. The Life of Chuck is an ambitious, poignant and profound crowd pleaser that’ll tug on your heartstrings. Yet another strong addition to Mike Flanagan’s impressive library, proving his talents extend far beyond the horror genre. Thanks for 39 great years, Chuck.
4/5
Review by: Benjamin Garrett