Mike Flanagan's ‘The Life of Chuck' is an Oddly Creative and Schmaltzy Film [TIFF]

This is set to be a busy evening of world premieres at TIFF. I’m heading out to catch Ron Howard’s “Eden” and Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch.” Those are the two biggies tonight.

Yesterday, Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck” screened for the public. Based on short stories in King’s 2020 book “If It Bleeds,” the cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay.

The ovation the film received at the Princess of Wales theater was over-the-top enthusiastic. Some critics are calling it Flanagan’s “best film yet,” while others hated it. I’m more in between. The Film Stage (C-) isn’t a fan. Mixed to positive takes are coming in from IndieWire (B-), The Daily Beast, and Bloody Disgusting (3/5). Meanwhile, raves from Collider (9/10), and The Wrap.

“The Life of Chuck” is told in reverse order, from the end of a man’s life to the beginning. The film starts with the death of Chuck (Tom Hiddleston), then proceeding to showcase moments in his life, culminating with his childhood as an orphan in a supposedly haunted house.

Chuck is dying from a brain tumor, and his perception of reality is slipping away, and that impacts how the story is told. If you catch any implausible moments, blame it on his illness. Its story is influenced by the cosmos and the idea of inner worlds. It’s high-concept stuff, but Flanagan doesn’t shy away from the schmaltz either.

Based on Stephen King’s source material, the film is much sunnier than you think, especially coming from horror ingenue Flanagan. There’s a wonderful dance sequence during middle act that had the crowd cheering. In fact, much of the film centers on the joys Chuck gets from dancing.

I didn’t expect the creative storytelling in this one — too bad Flanagan hammers down his message (“enjoy every sandwich”), a little too much, down our throats. There’s a part of me who wishes to embrace ‘Chuck’ a little more, especially in how beautifully the whole film is crafted, but Flanagan also can’t help himself with the schmaltz.

Flanagan recently ended his successful creative partnership with Netflix and has now been tasked to steer the ‘Exorcist’ franchise in the right direction. ‘Chuck,’ which still has no distribution, is probably going to be his last non-franchise film for a while.

Flanagan’s last film was 2019’s “Doctor Sleep”, which was based on King’s follow-up to “The Shining”. He’s well-respected within the horror genre, and has amassed a fairly large fanbase, having also helmed “Oculus,” “Hush” and “Gerald’s Game.” His successful television output includes “The Haunting of Hill House,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” for Netflix.