TIFF 2024 | Movie Review: “The Life of Chuck” Proves Mike Flanagan Has Multitudes
10/12 ForReel Score | 4 Stars
Fans of Mike Flanagan know what to expect when watching one of his projects. The acclaimed arthouse horror writer/director is famous for crafting dreadful atmospheres full of fleshed-out characters grappling with their morality and mortality. Without his typical ghosts and meticulously effective jump scares, The Life of Chuck is Flanagan at his most vulnerable, and I couldn’t love him more.
During a scene in the film’s third act, which explores Chuck’s childhood, his teacher, played tenderly by actress and Flanagan’s life partner, Kate Siegel, quotes Walt Witman’s famous words, telling Chuck that he has multitudes. In this moment, it’s as if Flanagan is talking directly to the audience, telling us how the world has only seen the beginning of the wondrous things he can do as a filmmaker and storyteller. This scene also provides much context for The Life of Chuck’s story, an unconventionally told drama based on Stephen King’s novella.
Image courtesy of TIFF
If there’s any film you should simply let unfold before your eyes instead of actively trying to figure it out, it’s this one. For those unfamiliar with the source material, it tells the story of Chuck Krantz, an accountant who seems to be retiring after 39 years of service. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Chuck is passing away, and we’re witnessing some of the most impactful moments from throughout his life, told backwards.
It’s bold to tell this story in three distinct acts and in reverse order. The first act takes place at the end of Chuck’s life. The second act explores a moment in time during the middle of Chuck’s adulthood, while the third is set during his childhood when Chuck (Benjamin Pajak) lived with his Bubbie and Zaide (Mark Hamill). Mike Flanagan is no stranger to telling stories out of order– his hit Netflix miniseries The Haunting of Hill House is famous for doing this so successfully. In less experienced hands, this choice would have been disastrous, but Flanagan pulls it off with extreme skill.
That said, embracing this non-linear structure even more would have reflected the free-flowing strands of time people imagine happen in one’s mind as they pass. It also could have allowed for a more interesting setup, as The Life of Chuck’s first act is easily the strangest and weakest of the three chapters. When the movie begins with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan navigating the end of the world, it’s disorienting, mainly because it doesn’t provide much information to help ground us in what’s happening. However, all becomes clear as the film continues, and it’s important not to write The Life of Chuck off before it does, as this movie is truly singular.
Unfortunately, fans of Tom Hiddleston, who plays the adult version of Chuck, may be disappointed to learn that the beloved Marvel actor, featured in every promotional image, has less screen time than expected. If reading that made you extremely sad, don’t be! Hiddleston still makes a massive impression in The Life of Chuck’s most memorable sequence. In Act Two, aptly titled “Buskers Are Forever,” Flanigan highlights what would have been an ordinary day for Chuck until his attention is drawn by a Busker (Taylor Gordon) drumming in the streets. What happens next is an almost 10-minute dance sequence with Hiddleston and Annalise Basso that will make you want to sign up for the closest dance lessons you can find.
The Life of Chuck begs to be seen multiple times– not just for Hiddleston’s incredible moves, but to be fully digested and meaningfully engaged. From the film’s beginning, it’s clear Flanagan is working with and has much to say about the complex themes of humanity, love, and death explored in King’s novella; he handles them so beautifully and poignantly that you’ll be smiling, crying, and wondering when Mike Flanagan will direct a musical by the film’s powerful conclusion.