3 min to read
The Life of Chuck
Review
Review: The Life of Chuck is the newest film from Tom Hiddleston, and it is based on a short story written by Stephen King.
This movie, compared to every other movie I’ve seen this year, has the most unique structure. The movie has a very explicit 3 act structure, but instead of starting with Act 1, you start with Act 3, which makes this be a movie where you don’t fully understand the ending of the movie (i.e., what was shown at the beginning) until you make it through Act 1.
As for the movie though, it was attempting to be more motivational, moving, and inspirational than it actually ended up being. There were also certain themes brought up during the film, such as embracing your passions, what drives you, and expressing joy, and I love how the movie was willing to put in the time to have people think about these topics. The only issue was none of these themes resonated with me, feeling only partially developed. Instead of the writing and character interactions bringing about the emotion of the film, the only true emotion I felt during the movie was through the score. It was subtle, it was simple, but it was one of the only parts of the movie that actually felt moving to me, which I think was a bit of a downer. There were certain scenes where the music and score were growing and swelling, really wanting to be the cherry on top of the developing scene, but these moments tended to feel cheesy rather than impactful.
Along with that, having the movie titled “The Life of Chuck,” the name immediately indicates to me that there was something large in Chuck’s life that had to have been so crucial to him that other people should also learn. In actuality, it was just the small moments of his life that ended up being the most impactful things. From a film perspective, I thought it was a little disappointing that there wasn’t some grand moment to latch onto and learn from, but I love and respect how subtle the lessons shown were simple and subtle. I think most of us can really latch onto that into our lives, as we all have the small and simple things that bring us joy and are extremely impactful to us.
While I did have my struggles with the film, it was extremely well shot and acted, and I can really see people falling in love with some of the characters and how they are portrayed throughout the film, especially the 3rd Act (the first act you see in the movie). This act itself almost could have been its own single-act film, and I loved the way the characters were written and how they interacted with each other. Every interaction was intentional, sweet, and well-thought through, and I wish the intrigue/uniqueness of this Act were more in the other 2 Acts I was also really hoping to see more of adult Chuck (mainly because he was played by Tom Hiddleston), but he tended to only be in the short 2nd Act of the film, tending to show his younger self learning through his childhood in the lengthy 1st Act (the final act in the movie you see).
Overall, this is a sweet and thought provoking movie. It’s supposed to bring out all the emotions and pull at the heart-strings of its watchers. I’ve seen so many people online who love and adore this movie, having it resonate deeply with them. I’ve seen some people online who think it is trying too hard, having it feel fake and uninspired. As for me, I found the movie to be significantly better than I expected, especially after seeing several negative reviews, but it was never as moving or inspirational as I wanted or expected to be, making it very difficult for the movie to stand out and be as enjoyable as other films that have come out this year.
Rating: 3.5/5
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