In “The Life of Chuck,” the end of the world is quiet.
When news breaks that the bulk of California has been swallowed by the ocean as more worldwide calamities stack up, residents of an unnamed Midwest town maintain their humdrum routines.
Cutting through the underwhelming response to threats of human extinction, Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) makes his first appearance. Billboards, lamp post banners and TV ads featuring a posed photo of Charles Krantz, with the words, “39 Great Years! Thanks Chuck!” are plastered everywhere.
The billboards capture the attention of high school teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who does not know who Chuck is — or why he is being celebrated — but dubs him the “Oz of the apocalypse.”
“‘The Life of Chuck’ is a movie about a man who is, at the same time the most important man in the universe and completely insignificant,” Kate Siegel, who plays Chuck’s English teacher Miss Richards, told the Deseret News.
Siegel described Chuck as “somebody who on the outside is an accountant (and on the) inside has the heart of a dancer.”
“The Life of Chuck,” which is rated R for language, is based on a Stephen King novella of the same name, and directed by horror aficionado Mike Flanagan.
For both King and Flanagan, “The Life of Chuck” is a departure from the frightful, gory stories that have defined their careers. It’s a story “so delicate and sweet that it doesn’t have a horrific bone in its body,” Flanagan said in a statement shared with the Deseret News.
The King novella was brought to life on screen with help from a distinguished cast, including Hiddleston and Ejiofor, Siegel, Mark Hamill, Mia Sara, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, Karen Gillan and narrated by Nick Offerman.
Who is Chuck Krantz?
As the universe crumbles around Marty, images of Chuck keep appearing — projected on windows and televisions and latched onto other surfaces. It’s eerie, and it’s taken as an indication the end is near.
At last, people decide how to spend their final moments, whether it is watching a final sunset, roller skating around the block or holding the hand of a loved one. But this only marks the beginning of “The Life of Chuck.”
Told in reverse chronological order, “The Life of Chuck” begins with Act III and concludes with Act I — where audiences receive a glimpse of Chuck’s inner world.
On the surface, Chuck is a composed businessman in a suit. Beneath, he is an orphaned kid who sacrificed dancing for accounting and is the type of man who gets stirred up by the beat of a busking drummer to dance in the streets.
The film’s central message hinges on a phrase found in the Walt Whitman poem “Song of Myself“: “I am large, I contain multitudes.” The poem is recited and gently interpreted by Chuck’s middle school teacher, Miss Richards.
“I hope everybody walks away (from ‘The Life of Chuck’) with a little more compassion, the understanding that every person you meet on the street is a whole universe,” Siegel said. “Walking down the street is like walking through the multiverse. Every person you meet is a whole world unto themselves.”
Whether “The Life of Chuck” leaves you teary-eyed or scratching your head, it’s the sort of movie worth chatting about during the moments after the credits roll.
“I think it is important to see this movie in movie theaters with people you love,” Siegel said. “There’s something special about sitting in a lovely, air conditioned theater in the middle of summer watching a great film.... then when the lights come up, getting to talk about that movie with the people around you.”
“So experience it with your community. It will make it that much richer.”
“The Life of Chuck” releases in theaters nationwide on Friday.