It’s not that Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck” is a bad movie — it’s not — but after it surprised many by winning last year’s TIFF People’s Choice Award, expectations rose a little too high.
Last September, NEON acquired “The Life of Chuck,” but then quickly announced that it would release nine months later, which meant it wouldn’t be part of the Oscar race — despite its TIFF win.
Twelve of the last fourteen TIFF winners have gone on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture, and four of them actually took home the top prize. ‘Chuck’ is now destined to become only the third film in the last fifteen years to not land a nomination.
The reviews for “Chuck” are fine (a 68 on Metacritic), and Flanagan diehards are fully embracing the film — not to mention Cahiers du Cinéma, who hailed it as a “masterpiece.” (Bless their contrarian hearts.) But its wide release this weekend will likely be met with muted response, as projections are, frankly, pretty dire.
In my review, I called ‘Chuck’ a “creative” film, bursting with ideas, but also a very “schmaltzy” and “messy” one. Flanagan just can’t help himself in hammering down his message, which, honestly, isn’t as profound as he believes it to be. Part of me really wanted to embrace ‘Chuck’ a little more, especially in how beautifully put together the whole thing was.
Based on short stories from Stephen King’s 2020 book “If It Bleeds,” the film features a stacked cast: Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay. Told in reverse order, it starts with the death of Chuck (Hiddleston), then rewinds through key moments in his life, culminating with his childhood in a supposedly haunted house.
Meanwhile, Flanagan still has a large and loyal fanbase, thanks in large part to his ultra-popular Netflix series — “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “Midnight Mass,” “The Haunting of Hill House.” His notable film work includes “Hush,” “Doctor Sleep,” “Oculus,” and “Gerald’s Game.” He’s also about to kick off a new “Exorcist” trilogy for Blumhouse.
So no, “The Life of Chuck” isn’t an artistic disaster — it’s just a TIFF winner that peaked too early. And Flanagan? He’s still very much in the game, and currently prepping to shoot his “Carrie” TV series later this summer.