‘The Life of Chuck’ is Coming and is a Special Sort of Movie Magic

This is not a review for The Life of Chuck. That’s coming next month. It’s going to be a rave, as you’ll more or less gather from this piece, but this is not a review of the film. No, this is more just a start of explaining why I think it’s such a profound and special work. It’ll undoubtedly be one of the best movies of the year for me, but beyond that, it’s the type of thing I know I’ll never forget. It’s the rare bit of cinema that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my days. It just has a magic about it. So, that’s what I wanted to prep you all for today…the magic that’s coming your way next month.

For those unaware, The Life of Chuck is an adaptation of the Stephen King novella of the same name, from frequent King adapter Mike Flanagan. It concerns three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz, or Chuck as we’ll come to know him. Starting with the final chapter and going backwards, we grow to understand why this seemingly unremarkable person is anything but. Played at different points by Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, and Jacob Tremblay, we find his world filled by folks like his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), as well as others, including Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan). The film takes its time explaining everyone’s relationships to each other, so I won’t get into that here, except to say that the longer the movie goes on, the more you’re consistently having your breath taken away by the simple and human beauty on display.

I absolutely loved this flick from start to finish, as it bounces around genres, occasionally scares you, makes you laugh, and brings you to tears. In less than two hours, I watched scenes that struck a timely chord about the state of the world, had a moment involving All That Jazz elicit my biggest laugh in a theater all year, and had multiple sequences that had me openly sobbing. It’s all done with such care and heart from Flanagan, who previously has shown he can do aces work with King’s horror outings. Here, he takes the mantle from Frank Darabont, as this is very much of the ilk of The Shawshank Redemption (my all-time favorite film), along with The Green Mile and Stand By Me (which Rob Reiner helmed). It’s unlike anything you’ve seen from Flanagan to date, easily stepping up as career best work.

Two lines in the film, presented out of context, I think help to illustrate the simple magic that this fantastical and yet deeply human story bring out in a willing audience member. They are, as follows:

“The universe is large, and it contains multitudes, but…it also contains me”

“In this moment, I am wonderful”

Once you see the movie, you’ll understand more, as well as what the whole “Charles Krantz, 39 great years! Thanks, Chuck!” of it all means. Once I understood it, the entire story came together in a way that took my breath away. Cinematic magic on display, plain and simple. The picture celebrates life, and not just that, it somehow manages to celebrate your life, which is the real magic trick of it all, in my humble opinion. It’s a miracle of a movie.

This is what I said about the film moments after getting out of my screening:

The next day, it was still on my mind, leading me to send this out into the world:

I can’t wait to have you all see it. Go in as blind as you can, as the teaser and trailer both preserve plenty of mystery, but in hindsight show more than I would have. At the same time, there’s no way to prepare yourself for this flick. Just know that I love it, people at the Toronto International Film Festival loved it (where it won the People’s Choice Award, while I’m kicking my former self for not seeing it back at TIFF), and the folks at NEON love it. If you’ve been on board with their tastes of late, this is just another feather in their cap, though unlike anything else they’ve ever released.

There will be much more to say about The Life of Chuck in the days and weeks to come, as well as throughout the entire year for me. I already have one interview in the can to share next week, with more coming next month. There will be my rave review, as well as more pieces once more of you have seen it. In the meantime, just know that this is a one of a kind work, magical and special, the sort of film that just doesn’t come along every day. So, prepare to celebrate The Life of Chuck…

Stay tuned for much more on The Life of Chuck!