The Life of Chuck

Official Australian release date: 14/8/25. Viewed: 17/8/25.
Director: Mike Flanagan
Actors: Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, Chiwetel Ejifor, Mark Hamill
Genre: Drama / Fantasy
Rating: MA

‘The Life of Chuck’ – you could be mistaken for thinking this is a Marvel film – the first 4 actors we see are Marty (Ejifor), Felicia (Gillan), Chuck (Hiddleston) and Sam (Lumbly). The film doesn’t give away too much, and purposely starts with “Act 3”, building the mystery and sci-fi aspect. Marty and Felicia ground this part. We then flesh out who Chuck the adult is in Act 2. It’s then all pulled together beautifully in Act 1.

I won’t give away too much, other than to say it had the potential to be depressing, but isn’t. As it’s based on a Stephen King work, it’s closer to ‘The Green Mile’ than ‘The Shining’, if that helps. It’s interesting to see how they pull together so well the subjects of dancing, astronomy and philosophy. All the cast are strong, but it’s ~11-year old Chuck (Pajak) who really steals the show and drives everything home. He’s helped by his grandparents, with Albie (Hamill in an excellent non-Star Wars role) and Bubbe (Sara) being key players.

It's sort of a reverse coming-of-age story, and has a few smiles, but mostly leaves you with a tear in the eye. I’d say it has some similarities with ‘La La Land’ and ‘Here’, but is better than both. Quite fast-paced at 110min, with some smart cinematography and a great soundtrack.

Overall: Heartwarming tale that makes you want to dance

Gav’s Rating: 4 stars