On one level, The Life of Chuck, which is based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, is a rich, mentally invigorating viewing experience. Three roughly chronological chapters are presented in reverse order, with two unifying themes threaded through them -- time and mortality.
The title character is played at various points by the ever-versatile Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager, Avengers), Jacob Tremblay (Room) and the wonderful child actor/dancer Benjamin Pajak. It is not entirely clear if Chuck is an actual person, an archetype or a totem, but whatever the case, he appears to be a soul out of time, in many senses of that expression. His purpose is to prompt those in the narrative world and in the audience to take a breath ... look around ... be in the moment.
On another level, The Life of Chuck is an ambitious and not wholly successful attempt to transfer King's heady contemplations to the screen, despite the constraints inherent in movies. Some notions are most genuinely appreciated on the written page.
Having said that, Flanagan's construction of Chapter 2, Buskers, is beyond exhilarating, with Hiddleston, Analise Basso's Janice and drummer Taylor Franck's Pocket Queen turning an uncanny musing on creativity and mindfulness into a masterclass on sound and movement.
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