A perfect adaptation of the source material, with a good deal of the dialogue lifted directly from the novella. It can border on feeling like a marching cavalcade of actors at times, with plenty of big names and Flanagan regulars stopping by to say hello.
Included are Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hiddleston, Nick Offerman, Karen Gillan, Matthew Lillard, Carl Lumbly, Rahul Kohli, Mia Sara, Kate Siegel, Annalise Basso, Mark Hamill, David Dastmalchian, Harvey Guillén, Violet McGraw, Samantha Sloyan, Jacob Tremblay, and Heather Langenkamp.
The best performances belong to Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillian, David Dastmalchian, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Samantha Sloyan, Mark Hamill, and Benjamin Pajak as middle school aged Chuck.
Mike Flanagan writes and directs, and as per usual it seems like he’s the person working now who best understands Stephen King’s works and how to properly adapt them. There are many call backs to the first act throughout, which can get a bit old for those who already picked up on what Flanagan is trying to convey.
The story itself takes a Pulp Fiction approach to its storytelling in as much as it’s told out of order or in reverse (the novella did the same thing). Flanagan adds less than a handful of extra scenes, but these only accentuate what’s already there. The score by The Newton Brothers sounds very Synthwave. It’s beautiful.
Life of Chuck is a film about the pain and grief of death, and the joys of life and dancing. The novella packs a harder emotional wallop, but this adaptation still manages to touch and move audiences when it needs to.
4.5 STARS
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