The Life of Chuck
review by Bobby Blakey
Director Mike Flanagan has already dipped into the world of Stephen King with his Shining sequel Doctor Sleep as well as plenty other horror films including Oculus and Hush. Now he is taking the short story The Life of Chuck from Stephen King’s novella If It Bleeds and bringing it to the big screen. The film features an impressive cast including Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak, with Jacob Tremblay and Mark Hamill who also appears in another upcoming King adaptation The Long Walk later this year.
The Life of Chuck follows the extraordinary story of an ordinary man. This unforgettable, genre-bending tale celebrates the life of Charles 'Chuck' Krantz as he experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
I didn’t really know much about this film as I haven’t read the source material, nor did I watch the trailer. I am so glad about this as this was a surprise journey filled with heart and sadness that comes in full circle but in a unique way not seen often. For those that do not know the story is told in chapters, but they are in reverse order that initially seems weird, but when the end comes it makes total sense and made such a great journey to experience.
The entire cast are fantastic with all of them getting some great moments to expound upon in this story. They are all connected by the mysterious Chuck that makes little to no sense initially and gets the audience intrigued right away as the world is seemingly coming to an end. It allows them to focus on some of these other lives and gives it a bigger impact as they come into focus later in the film.
Tom Hiddleston brings a simple charm to Chuck with his entire story in the
film being one that steals the show including a beautiful dance number moment that is clearly meaningful but doesn’t make sense till later in the film. It is a shining light in the film that is often filled with deep emotional issues of life and loss. While everyone here is also great, I must point out Mark Hamill’s performance that is so simple but perfect. On the one hand you kind of don’t like him and on the other you see the softness to him and love that he truly has. It was also great to see Mia Sara back on screen in this heart-warming role.
When the film ends there is a clear ending to it, but also an element that leaves it to the audience to decide what is really happening or how it affects them. I loved the abruptness of it and how it all comes together. It’s not your normal way of storytelling, but it is a great film that I think not only works but does the source material justice even with some alterations.​
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including never before seen behind-the-scenes content illuminating Flanagan’s creative vision, including a making-of featurette, cast interviews with Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a full-length director’s commentary offering deeper insight into the film’s emotional, life-affirming and unique narrative.
Witness a life like no other when The Life of Chuck available now on digital and then on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on September 30th from NEON.