You’re a good man, Charlie Krantz, and so is your movie.
I had a hunch that “The Life of Chuck” would be the secret movie that AMC Screen Unseen would be presenting based on two hints: its promotion says it’s rated R and it runs for an hour and 48 minutes. And as I was celebrating my correct guess, I was also thinking about the infinite questions and possibilities the movie itself contains.
“The Life of Chuck” is based on the story presented in Stephen King’s collection “If It Bleeds,” and like the book, the movie presents the acts in reverse order. It starts with “Act 3: Thanks Chuck,” then “Act 2: Buskers Forever,” and finally, “Act 1: I Contain Multitudes.”
We begin with what may be the end of the universe, continue with the title character helping two random strangers find their joy and serenity, and end with him discovering his talents in his youth. Writer/director Mike Flanagan presents the story with a lot more life than the trailers promoted it as. In the early stages, I was pondering if maybe the movie was self-congratulatory or cynical underneath. But I was proven wrong by its optimism and sheer joy.
The first part, which is apparently the last part, only has the ads “Charles Krantz. 39 Great Years. Thanks Chuck.” working, while the internet, television, and power is gone, and the whole world is in chaos. We know Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) is an accountant, but nobody else knows who he is. Although an aging undertaker (Carl Lumby) considers him to be “The Oz of the Apocalypse.”
The middle reminds me a little bit of “La La Land” spliced with “Amelie,” because it features an interesting character helping out others in a whimsical manner. Chuck dances to the music of the street drummer Taylor (Taylor Gordon, A.K.A. The Pocket Queen), while he dances with a recently dumped Janice (Annalise Basso). And yet, he doesn’t know why he did those two things.
And to correct myself, Chuck’s dance moves have always been influenced by his grandmother (Mia Sera) and their love for the Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth movie “Cover Girl.” And this is when we get to the last part which is supposed to be the first part. Jacob Tremblay plays the teenage Chuck, while Benjamin Pajak and Cody Flanagan (Mike’s son) respectively play his much younger selves. And Mark Hamill plays his grandfather who wants him that a forbidden room has ghosts, but not the kind we’d expect.
“The Life of Chuck” has an all-star cast, which also consists of Chiwetel Ejiofor as a teacher, Karen Gillan as a disillusioned nurse and his ex-wife, Nick Offerman as the narrator whose tone and dramatization should be worthy of a Wes Anderson entry (even though we’ve just gotten “The Phoenician Scheme”) and reminds me on how Ricky Jay narrated “Magnolia,” and others like Matthew Lillard, Harvey Gullien, and David Dastmalchian appear.
Now, I was in question about how the adult characters in the 39 year old Chuck’s life would appear the same age in his youth. But I was also in question about whether or not Chuck is connected to the universe. Is it all in his mind and he’s believes he’s holding the balance between life and death? I can’t say for sure, but I can say this is an intriguing thought, and I believe the movie wants us to do a lot of thinking.
Some critics may not appreciate its reverse order, but “The Life of Chuck” isn’t the first movie to do so. There are movies like “Memento” and “Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.” And besides, through my stand point, it really helps find the meaning of Chuck and what makes him tick. Or are we really supposed to know that? That’s another question of mine.
Flanagan, whose last movie and Stephen King adaptation was “Doctor Sleep,” examines the title character through his eccentricity and humanity, kudos to Hiddleston and Pajak respectively bringing Chuck to life. It knows how to be delightful without trying too hard and how to be emotional without being too cynical. And therefore, if we look at it through another standpoint, the universe is in balance.
In Select Theaters This Friday
Expands Nationwide Next Week