‘The Life of Chuck' movie review: Tom Hiddleston dances into our hearts to the end of the world
With a movie featuring Mike Flanagan — the man behind horror hits like The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher — and Stephen King, the master of the macabre, you would be forgiven for expecting a one-way ticket to the seventh circle of hell. Incidentally, Flanagan helmed the underwhelming King sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep.
The Life of Chuck (English)
Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill
Runtime: 110 minutes
Storyline: As the world falls apart, a man's life comes to an end, forging poignant connections both big and small
The Life of Chuck, adapted from King's novella, is an altogether different beast. Though set at the end of the world — with earthquakes, floods, volcanoes erupting in Germany, and even the internet going down — The Life of Chuck is a marvellous meditation on memory, mortality and the importance of legacy.
Like the novella, the story is told in three parts retroactively, starting with Act 3, which sees the end of the world through the eyes of a teacher, Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor). As things fall apart, Marty sees billboards appearing with the words, '39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck.' His ex-wife, Felicia (Karen Gillan), is a nurse and she hears an ad on the radio thanking Chuck for 39 great years. Marty tells his neighbour, Chuck seems to be the 'Oz of the Apocalypse' and 'Our last meme.'
Act 2 features a drummer (Taylor Gordon), who sets up on a sunny street corner. When she sees a businessman (Tom Hiddleston) walk down the street, she strikes a groove and the man inexplicably drops his briefcase and starts dancing. Lauren (Annalise Basso), who was dumped by a boyfriend via text, is walking down the street in a hurt fury when she joins the impromptu performance much to the delight of the gathered crowd.
In Act 1, we see a young Chuck (Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, Cody Flanagan) who comes to stay with his paternal grandparents, Albie (Mark Hamill) and Sarah (Mia Sara), after he loses his parents in a car crash. His grandparents' house is a lovely Victorian and Chuck has a free run of it except for the cupola which is always kept locked.
Sarah introduces Chuck to the joys of dancing, which is developed further in school by the dance teacher, Miss Rohrbacher (Samantha Sloyan). Chuck's 'hippy dippy' English teacher, Miss Richards (Kate Siegel), reveals Walt Whitman's truth of 'I contain multitudes' from his 'Song of Myself.' Fun fact: 'I contain multitudes' is the opening track of Bob Dylan's 39th studio album, Rough and Rowdy Ways.
ALSO READ:'Karate Kid: Legends' movie review: Jackie Chan and Ben Wang star in sweet, '80s-style martial arts drama
Despite its metaphysical underpinnings, The Life of Chuck is a joyful experience. While the acting is superb, from Ejiofor, Hamill and Jacob Tremblay, as the funeral director to Hiddleston, who anchors the film with a whimsical performance, it is the dancing that adds that extra zing to the film.
Hiddleston, Basso and Gordon set the screen ablaze with the blindingly sweet moves as do the young actors. Pajak and Cody Flanagan (director Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel's son) learning dancing from grandma and the dance teacher at school and the dance at the gym are so graceful and tender, bringing an unexpected lump to your throat, even as you grin widely. It is a gentle reminder of the attention we owe to the little things in life.
The Life of Chuck is currently running in theatres
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