Hey friends, Barbarella here. Have I ever told you what a huge Stephen King fan I am? It started when a teenage me read Pet Sematary and became so enthralled with the author’s work that my mom’s Christmas shopping became immensely easier. She started gifting me Stephen King books for every Christmas and birthday thereafter, knowing I would eagerly devour every page. I did, with relish. Eventually, I began working my way through movies based on his works. Some ventured from the source material in ways I didn’t appreciate, but when I heard Mike Flanagan would be tackling one of King’s short stories, The Life of Chuck, I knew I’d love it. And I did.
Mike Flanagan, who’s responsible for my favorite horror miniseries, The Haunting of Hill House, and who was the mastermind who brought Doctor Sleep to screens, remains incredibly faithful to the source material, including how it’s told in three acts using reverse chronology. It’s a film that offers a feast of reflection on life, but I suspect some will dig in more ravenously than others. This is a story about those magical moments in life, the influence others have on our lives, and the decisions we make day to day that steer us one way or another.
Narrated by Nick Offerman, the film begins ominously enough, with the world seemingly coming to an end. Natural and unnatural disasters plague the planet, and as if that’s not bad enough, the internet also appears to be out, possibly for good this time. Uncertainty and fear weigh heavily on everyone, including teacher Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his ex-wife Felicia (Karen Gillan), who both continue showing up at their respective jobs while the world around them crumbles. Amidst all the chaos, ads thanking some guy named Chuck Krantz for 39 great years become more noticeable. Who is Chuck? The first act won’t reveal that, but subsequent acts taking viewers back in time will.
Act two introduces an adult Chuck Krantz, an accountant, who makes a choice one afternoon that fills me with warmth and glee. Full of heart, the busking scene proves one of my favorites in the film, making me smile and shed tears at the kind of magic that’s created in the moment. Life is full of these moments. As we venture back further in the next act, we experience the world through the viewpoint of a much younger Chuck Krantz, a boy on the verge of choosing between his passion and a sensible career. It’s here where we learn about his scar.
The most delightful film based on King’s work, The Life of Chuck speaks on childhood ambition and the ways caregivers could both encourage rational decision-making and flightly passions. While it is appropriate for all audiences, I’m not sure the younger viewers will appreciate the revelations shared in this beautiful tale, as you have to have experienced enough of those moments, both positive and negative, that allow you to relate to what’s being expressed. In other words, the film will hit harder for the more seasoned viewers who could recollect moments in their own lives that sent them in certain directions, or who made choices that ended up with both positive and negative consequences and led them down the paths to where they are now.
My only disappointment was that it felt like it ended too soon. I simply wanted more time with Chuck.
The Life of Chuck is in theaters now.
