Time: 111 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Offensive language & suicide references
Cast:
Tom Hiddleston as Charles “Chuck” Krantz
Jacob Tremblay as 17-year-old Chuck
Benjamin Pajak as 11-year-old Chuck
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Marty Anderson
Karen Gillan as Felicia Gordon
Mark Hamill as Albie Krantz
Mia Sara as Sarah Krantz
Carl Lumbly as Sam Yarborough
Director: Mike Flanagan

I was curious about The Life of Chuck. It’s Mike Flanagan’s latest movie, which would be a rare non horror film from him, and he’s adapting a Stephen King novel. I had been waiting to watch it for a while after hearing some positive things, and I ended up quite liking it.

After hearing of how life affirming The Life of Chuck apparently was, it was a little surprising when it ended up being a little bleaker than I expected it to be. Death is a looming presence throughout the movie and it really dabbles in existential terror, finality of death, and focuses on how small you are in the grand scale of things. But it is a sentimental film made with sincerity, and yes was even life affirming. It was also humorous and relatable, and I was personally on the movie’s wavelength at least most of the way through. Interestingly, it uses a reverse chronological structure, and is made up of three distinctly different segments. The first part was surprisingly eerie and has an intriguing tone, though I was a little more invested in the following two parts. My least favourite aspect of the movie was the narration from Nick Offerman; it felt forced and unnecessary, and there to spoon feed exposition to the audience when it didn’t need to.

The Life of Chuck has a massive ensemble cast who all deliver in their parts, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mark Hamill, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, and Annalise Basso. Tom Hiddleston as the titular character doesn’t have as much screentime as you’d think, but has a really notable screen presence in his scenes. Benjamin Pajak is also great as a younger Chuck.

Mike Flanagan directs this really well in his first non horror feature. It is beautifully shot, the rare scenes of eeriness (especially in the first act) are very effective, and the sequences involving dancing are also highlights.

The Life of Chuck is heartfelt, earnest, and existential, with a cast of great performances.