The Life of Chuck
The Life of Chuck is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated R. Common Sense says 14+.
A life-affirming, genre-bending story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz (played by Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, and Cody Flanagan).
STORY: C-
More puzzle than plot.
The movie moves the way a hip hop dancer moonwalks: backwards.
Some people will find that the story’s direction makes it jumbled and overly puzzling. You’ll have moments of confusion, to be sure. But that’s the point. I’d argue that, much like Christopher Nolan’s classic film Memento, the story wouldn’t make much more sense if it were told chronologically.
It’s a bold choice. Some people will love it, others will not. My fear is that those who don’t will be so overwhelmed by its structure that they’ll miss the film’s many other charms.
PEOPLE: B-
A newcomer dances his way into our hearts.
The Life of Chuck is chock full of actors who have played unforgettable characters from the past: Luke Skywalker, Sloane Peterson, Pocahontas, Nebula, Shaggy.
Despite this galaxy of star power (which also includes Chiwetel Ojiiofor, Carl Lumbly, Jacob Tremblay, and Tom Hiddleston), the film only works because Benjamin Pajak (appearing in his first feature film) so fully embodies a young kid doing his best to navigate the ups and downs of an unbelievably confusing world.
I’d tell you not to forget his name, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem. You’re going to hear it a lot in the future.
FILM NERD STUFF: C-
The film contains multitudes and multitudes and multitudes of repetition.
Repetition can add emotional resonance to a film. One character at the end echoes the words of another character they’ve never met. An image or a topic recurs in vastly different contexts.
But like a chef’s favorite spice, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.
ONE BIG LESSON: B
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
I didn’t come up with that quote. That comes from the famous Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. Luckily for us, movies get to live in whatever order they want.
Telling the tale in reverse order won’t help Chuck figure his own stuff out. But as we moonwalk our way through his life, we get the chance to understand our own lives better. That’s what your post-movie conversations should be about.
FINAL COMMENTS:
The Life of Chuck will be a divisive film. For evidence, look no further than the fact that it danced away from 2024’s Toronto International Film Festival with the People’s Choice Award (which is a historically strong predictor of Oscar success) but without a distributor.
Watching this movie is like solving one of those wooden box brain teasers they sell at bookstore counters. How much you enjoy it will largely depend on how much brain power you’re willing to use toward it.