The Life of Chuck – Movie Reviews by Ry!

The Life of Chuck – For a Moment … Just Dance & Smile

Time comes and goes, but the moments stay true.  To look at life is to see certainty, to see where magic is a matter of choice and perspective.  Life is a sway of things, but it is in the most delicate steps we take where a story becomes worthy of being told.  In this latest edition of old school rewind, I take a look at the film: The Life of Chuck.  Through a creative direction and a mesmerizing journey, this film shows what it means to dance your way through life and smile.

In a tale of normalcy and intrigue, we embark on a journey about one ordinary man’s place in life.  To look at a story, we look at a place where escape and emotions become one in the same.  From a creative mind, we hope to feel whisked away while holding to what makes us feel a part of the adventure.  With this film, we embark on a journey that mixes familiarity and surrealism into a retrospective on life.  In this story, we follow a person by the name of Charles Krantz.  Through each of the three acts, we see unique perspectives on when he is an older man (Tom Hiddleston), young adult (Jacob Tremblay) and teenager (Benjamin Pajak).  Each of these moments are infused through a creative direction that builds out the journey in reverse.  Instead of building towards a climax, we start with a finality that plays with an ominous question of a world engrossed by ‘Who is Chuck’, to a backwards perspective of answers that builds up a thematic appeal of how life begins.  This unique choice of storytelling bends intake of the film’s foundation, but what seems obscure becomes a genuine look at relationships and moments.  Seeing ‘Chuck’ through the lens of ‘knowing’ his end becomes a filling of the surreal and how our worlds and the known world become one in the same.  This film provides a realistic mirror of our own guise by bending traditional tropes through an artistic allure of what it means to live in the moment. 

Another way this film builds up that allure is through its methodical pace of building the characters.  Through the different eras of Krantz’s life to all the other people that cross his path (you can view the actor/actress list on the film’s IMdb page – link), there is a multitude of layers that become more than just common conversation.  Each interaction becomes an endearing connection that levies themes and personal prowess to Krantz’s journey.  It is slow developing, but the aspect of engagement builds up to a place that defines where ends and beginnings meet, and how everything truly comes full circle.  The Life of Chuck is a unique way of storytelling.  If you are a fan of creative risks and character tales, I say check this out.  I would say … this is a film that would have been worth seeing on the big screen.

Full Score – 4 out of 5 (Full Price)