Seven years ago, I sat in the audience for the premiere of Mike Flanagan’s first Stephen King adaptation, Gerald’s Game, and left with one of the best filmgoing experiences of my lifetime. Â
Fast forward to today in Toronto for Flanagan’s third King adaptation (and a fourth in the works with The Dark Tower) –– The Life of Chuck. And unlike Gerald’s Game, this is decidedly not the same visceral experience.
Of course, these two stories share little in common beyond being sourced from a Stephen King story –– one is a horror movie and the other is an upbeat search for joy. But there is one extra thread shared. Just as Gerald’s Game has the infamous handcuff escape, Life of Chuck has hyped its dance sequence with Tom Hiddleston as this singular moment.
As the movie rolls in reverse chronology across three chapters, Hiddleston’s role is teased throughout the third chapter. It’s only the middle chapter where Hiddleston as the titular character appears with any significance. And it’s the dance scene that is at the core. While joyful and certainly a feat of art from Hiddleston seamlessly transitioning from the Charleston to the samba and dozens more, to come with expectations of a showstopper is unfair, especially against a catalog of thrills from Flanagan.
But where Flanagan certainly adds to his illustrious portfolio comes from the ensemble, with new collaborators Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan shining in the third chapter. Each helps lay down the groundwork for deeper exploration in the next two chapters with roles shrouded in mystery and doubt. And I’d be remiss to not mention the funny, heartfelt appearance from Matthew Lillard helping to set the scene of a mysterious apocalypse.)
The third act features some hopeful regulars among Flanagan’s rolodex as Mark Hamill churns out a surprisingly emotional and layered turn, pulling off fierceness and compassion in equal measure while sharing scenes with younger versions of our titular character. And on that note, this may be the one of the best examples of casting a character through different eras, with the youngest Chuck being a complete dead ringer for an elder adolescent Chuck played by Jacob Tremblay — each impressive in their own right. And someday, I wouldn’t be surprised to mistake Tremblay for Hiddleston, as a brief montage shows their resemblance.
Along with the ensemble’s undeniable talent, Flanagan’s greatest success here certainly comes from the editing bay. While the three-act structure could feel like a gimmick, the reverse engineering at hand truly helps elevate the meaning behind each act and their motivations to answer questions raised between all three acts- particularly the first chapter’s impact on the third act.
It will be very interesting to see how this plays among different ages, with older viewers having a larger collection of memories that Flanagan evokes, and younger viewers having a whole new, exciting world in front of them- each day being shaping their identity in multitudes.
On a side note: This screening overlapped with my screening of Palme d’Or winner Anora, and I left that showing early to catch this movie instead. Of the 70 minutes that I saw of Sean Baker’s latest, it’s worth all the hype that it has received featuring a brilliant central performance from Mikey Madison.
