How apt that the director-screenwriter Mike Flanagan chose to adapt author Stephen King’s novella The Life of Chuck at this turbulent juncture in time, when the future is so uncertain and fraught with potential peril. After all, both Flanagan and King are known for their mastery of suspense and their dark visions. King is the renowned writer behind the novels It, Salem’s Lot, Carrie, The Shining, and so many other classics of modern horror including Doctor Sleep (the sequel to The Shining). As for Flanagan, his streaming miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunting of Hill House, and Midnight Mass and his feature-film version of Doctor Sleep are serious exercises in terror. But The Life of Chuck — on the page and the screen — runs counter to what’s expected from these collaborators. It’s optimistic, even uplifting, in spite of its mortal concerns.
In essence, The Life of Chuck is as advertised by its title: an intermittent look at the life and times of a man named Charles “Chuck” Krantz who comes of age in a modernish suburban town. His grandparents raise him after the untimely passing of his mom and dad when he’s just a boy. As Chuck grows up, he reluctantly follows the same ostensibly dull career path taken by his grandfather and becomes an accountant. The years move forward, and Chuck finds love, faces tragedy, and somehow muddles through. On the way, his unsolicited and unpretentious acts of kindness leave a mark on the people he encounters. Those basic plot elements aside, it’s not so easy to encapsulate The Life of Chuck in simple terms because the story is told in reverse and starts (or ends) with what could only be called an apocalypse in progress.
A fable in progress
Shards of fantasy and science fiction and one particularly inspiring dance sequence add magic to this celebration of an ordinary guy whose effect on others gives value and meaning to what might be misconstrued as an ephemeral existence. There’s the sense of a fable being told here. It could also be thought of as a contemporary take on Frank Capra’s beloved angel-on-my-shoulder heart-tugger It’s a Wonderful Life. Whether or not it’s destined for the sort of cinema immortality enjoyed by the Capra classic, The Life of Chuck is going for its own brand of unabashed emotional impact with Flanagan’s script staying faithful in structure and tone to King’s text.
The story is told in reverse and starts (or ends) with what could only be called an apocalypse in progress.
The global collapse in the first but chronologically final act of The Life of Chuck serves as a prelude to meeting Chuck as an adult, a teenager, and a youngster. With the end of the world at hand, the teeming masses search for shelter or seek their loved ones. Amid the chaos, we get our initial glimpse of Chuck via an omnipresent series of billboards and broadcast commercials that thank him for “39 great years.” A series of moments over those 39 years comprise the rest of the movie, offering insights into Chuck’s character development and making a case for his significance.
Stirring, sweet, and life-affirming
When multiple actors are playing the same person at various ages, it’s crucial for the performers to echo one another while still illustrating maturation or change. The mesmerizing Tom Hiddleston (Loki, The Night Manager) provides the cornerstone performance as the adult Chuck, and is quite light on his feet during a street scene that shows Chuck’s generosity of spirit. But Jacob Tremblay as teenage Chuck and Benjamin Pajak as young Chuck are equal to the task of fleshing out this portrait in flux. The rest of the cast is a dream as well. Mark Hamill commands every scene he’s in as Chuck’s grandfather and mentor; Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan bring anguish as a schoolteacher and the estranged love of his life who desperately try to reconnect amid catastrophe; Matthew Lillard offers shock and bewilderment as Chuck’s neighbor; Carl Lumbly embodies quiet acceptance as an older gentleman resigned to whatever fate has in store for him; and Nick Offerman narrates with warmth and panache.
Cynics might deride its earnest view of human nature, complain that it’s not as profound as it wants to be, or suggest that its backward storytelling is needless gimmickry. Ignore them. The Life of Chuck is stirring and sweet and life affirming. It may even make you smile and tear up here and there — unless you’re the kind of monster who belongs in the narratives that King and Flanagan usually produce.
The Life of Chuck is currently showing in select theaters.
