‘The Life of Chuck’ Review: A Life-Affirming Crowd Pleaser

The Life of Chuck is based on a novella included in Stephen King’s 2020 short stories collection titled If It Bleeds. As a fan of King, I read the book when it was initially released and The Life of Chuck instantly stuck out to me as a cinematic piece of fiction that was worth being adapted to the big screen. Thankfully Mike Flanagan thought the same. The film, like the short story, is told in three acts, going in reverse chronological order. Starting with the titular Chuck in a hospital bed and ending with him as a child. The story is life-affirming, joyful, heartening, surreal, crowd pleasing, and some may say contains multitudes. Read our full review of The Life of Chuck below. 

I am going to go right out and say it straight, this is a great movie. A great movie to see in a crowd, with your family, alone, in any mood. Unless you are the most cynical person on this Earth, there is a very small chance this movie does not work on you. It is hard to give a simple synopsis of this film. The most I can say is that it is about the life of an ordinary man told in three acts and how the world influenced or affected him and how he in turn, affected the world. It’s a reminder of how the smallest moments can stick with you. The third act (which is the first part of the movie, very confusing) is at its most surreal and genre-bending. Set during the apocalypse and Chuck’s last days on Earth, this act goes over how people would react to the end of the world and what they would choose to hold dear near the end. One criticism I could see people having of this movie is that this third act feels very disjointed from the rest of the story, but to me it has to be there. Not only does it set up Chuck’s character beautifully by showing his impact on the people around him, but it also foreshadows moments from Chuck’s past. 

Tom Hiddleston is the star of the second act. He is not featured in the film very much, but the impact he makes in this act has made it one of my favorite performances by Hiddleston. I want to specifically touch on the dance sequence that takes place in this section, because it is one of the best parts of the film. Who knew Loki himself had moves like that. It is a moment that will put a huge smile across the face of anyone who watches it. One of the major positives of the film is that it only gets better as it goes. When I was watching the second act dance scene, I thought this had to be the peak of the film, but the first act is my personal favorite. In this act we get to see Chuck as a child, from the ages 6 to 18. To me this act is a reminder of how moments in our youth plant seeds and manifest into our older selves. Chuck dancing in the kitchen with his grandmother or learning about the importance of math from his grandfather are two moments that both explain why Chuck does the things he does during the first two acts. This first act also includes my favorite performance of the entire movie by Benjamin Pajak, who plays eighth grade Chuck. He is picture perfect and has some amazing dance sequences that match the level of talent of Hiddleston. 

The Life of Chuck is a fantastic Stephen King adaptation, though, to me, not as good as classics like Carrie or Stand By Me. As someone who has read the original story, I can confidently say that this film did it justice. The only reason this is not a five-star film from me is because it can be a little too cheesy at times. It is obvious that the movie is trying to hit certain emotional beats and I personally feel like some moments lean too heavily on the sappy side. It is a fine line that these life-affirming, life is beautiful movies teeter on. Other than that one small criticism, I am happy to say that The Life of Chuck is a total crowd pleaser that I will be rooting for at the box office.

The Life of Chuck is directed and written for the big screen by Mike Flanagan. The film is made up of an ensemble including Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Mark Hamill.

The Life of Chuck will have a limited theatrical release on June 6 and a full theatrical release on June 13.

Thanks for reading this The Life of Chuck review. For more articles like this, stay tuned here at Feature First.