No assembly RequireD

In making a movie about the purpose of life or what our meaning is in the grand scheme of things well it can open up quite the door. In fact in some sense, while the task may seem daunting it can also be seen as assort of scape goat. Life is so complicated and up for interpretation of every single human that your film never quite needs to land on any concrete ideas. Sometimes you can just bask in the beauty of it all. THE LIFE OF CHUCK directed by Mike Flanagan and based on the Stephen King short story is all about the hauntingly beautiful. A film that is captivating in its ability to immerse yourself while also finding itself stuck in corners that much like life struggles to get out of repeating itself sometimes aiding other times limiting. But when declaring your story to be about a person’s life there is always the plea for empathy and CHUCK contains multitudes of compassion. A film asking us not to just understand the life of one being but the immense power of everyone all through love, pain and destruction. It is not crazy to say that life is gift while also being a curse and while CHUCK can play out like a stoned out conversation you have with a friend around a campfire Flanagan and crew find ways throughout to keep you in a state of believability even when the cosmos themselves begin to disappear. It is also a film of dedication one where you realize the creator himself sees the film not just as his chance to adapt another story from his favorite author but rather write an early obituary to someone he deeply admires. In doing so it allows THE LIFE OF CHUCK to seep into our own waves of memory and allow ourselves to find who this film is for in our lives. Are we Chuck or is Chuck someone we wish we could see again? It is heavy often blanketed ideas and yet THE LIFE OF CHUCK always feels like a warm hug or better an old tune we once danced to calling us back onto the stage to see if we’ll dust off the old shoes and dance once more.

The world is ending. Earthquakes, war, famine and worst of all no internet. For school teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) what scares him the most is the way people seemed to have forgotten that education can still exists even in a digital age with no Wi-Fi. He spends his days arguing with the parents of his students who claim libraries are not reliable and then spends his nights calling his ex-wife Felicia (Karen Gillan) not in hopes of rekindling but just to have a conversation. As if the world ending wasn’t confusing enough for Marty he continuously sees these billboards featuring a mysterious man named Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) with the phrase “39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!” Who is this man? Is this just an ad or as Marty believes the final meme before our end? Just as the source material THE LIFE OF CHUCK is told in three parts with Marty being the focus on part 3 titled “Thanks, Chuck” and told first. Flanagan as a director when adapting King’s work plays as if he is the disciple of King hand picked by the author himself. On one hand it is so endearing to watch this filmmaker who on his third adaptation (Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep included) shows immense love in every frame even in its most terrifying moments. King on the other hand gets to correct what he believes was years of lesser adaptations but by greater filmmakers. It is safe territory for both creators allowing arguments of limitations. But still THE LIFE OF CHUCK especially in its first (last?) act has such a wide scope of destruction that just listening to Ejiofor and Gillan’s character somewhat apologize to one another is mesmerizing. So much so that while there will certainly be a more talked about and flashier moment in the film it is the final conversation between Marty and Felicia that becomes the most stunning scene in the film allowing for what is to come next be an easier pill to swallow. Ejiofor a pro at playing the more silent type gets to display a peculiar range of fear that always feels comforting in some unsettling yet heartwarming way. All this is aided by stunning visual and a dreamlike score from The Newton Brothers that holds you along the way. As Marty journeys on a walk to his ex’s house the film gets to play out as a “friends you meet at the end of the world” film all while in service to the wider story of Chuck that engulfs everything.

If Chuck is meant to be us all there is a daunting task on who will play the all person, thankfully Tom Hiddleston (fully entering the film in its second part) is so damn charming. Flanagan takes the story past destruction of what is coming and instead plants it into the now with a second part only to follow it with a final (first?) act of creation. Hiddleston as Chuck is a charmer even as he quietly walks down the street wearing the drums of a local busker. What transpires next is a testament to Hiddleston’s ability to bring us back to the delightful soundstage days of movie musicals all while carrying both a beauty and sadness. A moment that shows THE LIFE OF CHUCK can never actually be just about the one moment but rather all the ones that led us here and well as the ones it will create without us even being aware of these moments. Even as the film finds itself back to Chuck’s childhood (now played by Benjamin Pajak) it allows feels like its on its way to a bigger future. This is because young Chuck has such an extraordinary life as a kid it can only bring bigger things. Flanagan with his cinematographer Eben Bolter shoots this segment with a sharpness that almost feels reminiscent of “The Fabelmans” while also bringing its own purpose of blending past present and future. Growing up with his grandfather Albie (Mark Hamill) and Grandmother Sarah (Mia Sara with a stunning nearly 25 year return to major films) Chuck is taught life through love, death, math and dance. It’s a segment that is charming at times but often feels too repetitive in its youthful energy. Flanagan as a devoted King church member does not avoid some of the more obnoxious sentimentality that King ensues in most of his work. It isn’t about being a pessimist unable to have fun or a heart but rather an upset feeling of knowing this sappiness chooses to never avoid schmaltzy playing less like Frank Capra and more like afternoon school special. Hamill finds an intriguing balance of kind hearted and drunken asshole allowing some edge to exist but even as CHUCK reaches his final moments its delivered in a monologue turned mantra that unfortunately earns those eye rolls that the rest of the film avoided  with ease. But even with this Flanagan has one final plea for compassion and it is a perfect encapsulation. A dedication in its early credits that for many will feel like both a hug and gut punch. It is also just more evidence that THE LIFE OF CHUCK will be the kind of film to grow on you with time, and one that has the ability to always play a role in your life. And just like Chuck you may choose to get back out there and dance but no matter what THE LIFE OF CHUCK is a song worth putting on replay.

B+

THE LIFE OF CHUCK WILL BE RELEASED IN LIMITED THEATERS JUNE 6 EXPANDING JUNE 13 FROM NEON