TIFF 2024: The Life of Chuck Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Not all of the works of author Stephen King, known mostly for his forays in the horror genre, are doom and gloom. Meanwhile, writer and director Mike Flanagan has a lot of experience in the field of horror through his countless film and television projects but he also has experience adapting the works of King, adapting Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. This time around, The Life of Chuck is Flanagan’s latest King adaptation, based on his novella of the same name, and it’s something much different from his past works and may very well be his best yet. While there admittedly is some doom and gloom here, the film is much more than that. Rather, it’s an optimistic tale about the meaning of life and finding the joy out of the little moments and pursuing our dreams until our time is up. Seamlessly blending tones and genres, this emotional roller coaster packs a wallop and speaking of little moments, it features quite a few that are likely to stay with audiences long after the credits roll. Employing an unorthodox structure, the film does not put all its cards on the table right away. However, once it does, it is absolutely magic.

School teacher Marty Anderson (Ejiofor) can’t get away from seeing the face of Charles Krantz (Hiddleston) plastered across billboards, window signs, and TV and radio commercials. He is everywhere but what was so special about him that he deserved this kind of a send off? From Marty’s ex-wife Felicia (Gillan) to just about everyone he knew, Charles (or Chuck) was a mystery. As Chuck’s life began to unravel in front of our eyes, the story slowly went back to his beginning. Losing his parents at a young age and now living with his grandparents Albie (Mark Hamill) and Ginny (Q’orianka Kilcher), Chuck was a smart and curious kid looking to find his place in the world. Perhaps finding that place with dance, he was quickly confronted with reality. Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, Chuck became an accountant. While content, he couldn’t help but wonder what could have been though seeing him get a chance to relive that dream, if only for a moment, was a show stopping moment made more impactful by all the emotion behind it and knowing what would come soon after. Narrated by Nick Offerman, the film employs his narration in timely ways.

Flanagan’s writing and his vision behind the camera are what truly bring The Life of Chuck to life. Finding light in the midst of darkness, he brings an aura of hope that is uplifting to watch. Tapping into so many different emotions while tapping into different tones, Flanagan’s steady hand is impressive. Strong in big and small moments, simple conversations are so captivating to watch. Meanwhile, the performances, across the board, are phenomenal. Hiddleston delivers his best performance yet as Chuck (while Cody Flanagan, Benjamin Pajak, and Jacob Tremblay also deliver as the younger versions of Chuck), fully committing to him and bringing the sum of the character’s life experience, both good and bad, through the subtleties of his performance. Ejiofor and Gillan shine as Marty and Felicia but the other standout performance comes from Hamill as Albie.

The Life of Chuck is a lot of things but in the end, it is pure magic. A beautiful rumination on life, death, and all the joyous moments in between, it is arguably the best film to come out of this year’s TIFF.

still courtesy of TIFF

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.