acid reflects

The Life of Chuck unravels the ghosts of a life past as the dying brain cells of a man blast off the remaining shells of his memories. It’s a feel-good version of Scrooge – but I wasn’t totally buying it.

Director Mike Flanagan adapts a Stephen King short story of everyday man Chuck Krantz (Tom Hiddleston), whose cancer-ridden brain revisits his life and the people that populated his universe in three chapters in the last moments of his terminal illness.

The first chapter is at the end of Chuck’s life, shown as the people from his town grapple with the sudden collapse of the universe. Marty Anderson’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) literature class is interrupted by news that a mega quake has broken off California. As Marty goes about his mundane business to regain a level of normalcy, he encounters a range of random people from the town who are also trying to come to terms with the end of the world, all the while reminded by advertisements and signs everywhere to “thank Chuck for 39 wonderful years.” At the end of this chapter, the universe, therefore Chuck’s brain, blinks.

The second chapter is nine months before his end, revisiting that time when accountant Charles Krantz (Hiddleston) spontaneously danced in the middle of a town square with Janice Halliday (Annalise Basso) as a busking drummer (The Pocket Queen) banged on her drums one random afternoon. The dance is freewheeling, unremarkable but effervescent, earning the applause of the small crowd that had gathered around them. In fairness to the choreography, the dance looks natural and unrehearsed, even though Hiddleston doesn’t look natural at dancing at all. The busker invites the two for another gig afterwards, but Chuck declines. He still has another panel at the bank convention to attend to the following day. But Chuck will remember the brief, quiet walk with Janice before they parted ways.

The final chapter is about Chuck’s youth, being raised by his grandparents, Albie (Mark Hamill) and Sarah (Mia Sara), after young Chuck’s (Cody Flanagan) parents died from an accident. Sarah introduced Chuck to music and dancing (which eventually became his obsession) while Albie introduced the young man to the magic of numbers. And to avoid the ghosts in the attic (or more precisely, the top floor cupola). The dance would eventually introduce Chuck to his first crush, while Ms. Richards (Kate Siegel) would introduce him to “I contain multitudes” from poet Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself.

Throughout these chapters, The Life of Chuck quotes legendary astronomer Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Calendar, which explained that if the universe had been a calendar, humans would have appeared in the last minute of the last hour of December 31st. The film takes this profundity seriously, as it is repeated several times through characters, through the background, or through the deep, grounded voice narration of Nick Offerman. The movie says that this poetry in the mathematics of the universe is an astounding irony of the rarity of human beings in the cosmos, and by extension, how precious our time together in this tiny blip in space. But several times (bordering on a multitude) is literally overstating it.

For the most part, the film is heartfelt and earnest, with the final act traversing Chuck’s emotional journey in a nutshell. Indeed, the best part of the film is the last, featuring young Flanagan. The middle part feels superfluous and forgettable, but of course, it could not have been the story of a 39-year-old had the film skipped showing some of Chuck’s multitudes from that age milestone. I’m not sure if it would have been better with or without Hiddleston’s dancing. Flanagan’s eye for horror imagery can be seen in moments when he isolates his characters in darkness. Overall, everything is warm and colorful.

Stephen King isn’t new to telling stories that affirm the goodness in life. The Shawshank Redemption is one of his most popular shorts and is also one of the most popular films that Hollywood has ever made. In fact, some of the most highly regarded films of all time have similar or related philosophies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Boyhood, Big Fish, and The Bucket List. The all celebrate life long or short, no matter the circumstance. In a way, seeing the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Optimism as Hollywood can ever present it. Thematically, it is the opposite of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which suggests that true fulfilment comes with embracing the realities of life.

You see, The Life of Chuck left me confused about how the movie wanted me to feel – whether it was supposed to evoke happiness, inspiration, or fear – themes similarly present in Stephen King’s works. But it’s a cheat. The movie cheats the audience into thinking that it’s life-affirming, but the actual ending is quite cynical. The movie ends just as Chuck’s life is beginning. But it starts within the fantasy of Chuck’s end – an uneventful end for the short life that Chuck should be thankful for.

Maybe I see the world half-empty, and Mike Flanagan (and Stephen King, and by further extension Hollywood) would like audiences to see a world half-full. But I can’t tell the starving children of Gaza or Sudan to be thankful for the very short lives that others have taken from them. The film and its message could have been good at a different time. But at this point in history, it is a privilege to be able to cuddle in a cold, dark cinema and take life lessons from Chuck to count the multitudes in our lives.

Again, maybe you see the world half-full, so you do you.

The Life of Chuck was adapted from a short story in Stephen King’s “If It Bleeds” collection. Mike Flanagan directs.

The Life of Chuck is now in theaters, exclusively screening at Ayala Malls Cinemas starting August 20 in the Philippines.