It’s the waiting…that’s the hard part
In my review of If It Bleeds, I called “The Life of Chuck” unusual, and the story has led to the creation of a most unusual and unique adaptation. Many directors have re-imagined King’s works over the years, but Mike Flanagan has imagined King’s novella. Rereading the story after watching the movie is an interesting experience. King’s words have never been so faithfully rendered on the screen before.
That’s not to say that The Life of Chuck is a word-literal translation from page to screen. Flanagan has added some things (the hospital scenes, for example, with the eerie beeping heart monitors, and the part where Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) steals his grandfather’s keys), and taken a few thing out (Chuck rehearsing with the Retros in high school), as well as subtly changing certain things, such as the scene in Chuck’s hospital room, the images of Chuck in windows near the end of Act Three (= Part 1), which reveal more of Chuck’s situation, young Chuck’s prom night, and the gender of the drumming busker (played con gusto by Taylor Gordon, aka the Pocket Queen).
But, on the whole, the entire novella is there on the screen. Nick Offerman narrates large chunks of King’s narrative, and King’s dialog is uttered verbatim in many cases. Even King’s stage directions are often utilized.
The movie opens with scenes that show the chaos and destruction that’s happening in the world, and the reaction of two characters to it, coupled with the odd appearance of ads celebrating one Charles Krantz, who no one knows—or do they?
The story of Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Felicia (Karen Gillan) is bittersweet—heartwarming and tragic at the same time. Even though they’re divorced, they still care for each other and choose to be together as first the streetlights and then the power and then stars go out.
The transformation of the spontaneous dancing scene that forms Act II from page to screen is very well done, and the part where a young woman (Annalise Basso) who has just been dumped via text strides down the street uttering expletives out loud is laugh-out-loud funny, especially with the juxtaposition of her dialog with Offerman’s voiceover.
And then we come to Act I / Part 3, the story of Chuck’s tragic youth. This is where all the pieces come together, as the concept of the vanishing world belonging to Chuck gels. Motifs (Sagan’s description of the cosmic calendar, for example, and Sam/Albie’s lectures about the importance of math) are reiterated. Characters from the earlier sections pop up again and, although time has passed (in reverse), they aren’t any younger. Things overlap—like Chuck’s childhood home and the house Marty lives in. A mortician’s pipe shows up in an unexpected place. And the secret of the locked cupola room, so carefully guarded by Chuck’s grandfather (a cranky Mark Hamill reminding me of Wilford Brimley), is revealed.
It’s all very cosmic. You can almost imagine King thinking, “My mind is full of stories, many of which I’ve been able to write down. But what happens to all the others when I die?” Characters that he’s imagined but hasn’t put down on the page will perish. The imaginary internet will disconnect. The lights will go out.
And yet, despite the fact that the story begins with the apocalypse, features at least one funeral, and ends with a vision of impending death, the novella and the movie both celebrate life. The individual set pieces are charming. Marty talking with Sam (Carl Lumbly) as they stroll through the dying city. Marty and Felicia holding hands. Marty’s conversation with his neighbor Gus (a delightful Matthew Lillard) about the stages of grief. Chuck’s grandmother teaching him to dance, followed by his adventures with Miss Rohrbacher (Samantha Sloyan), where he shows his classmates how to moonwalk. We came away from the theater feeling uplifted.
It’s too soon to say where The Life of Chuck will rate in the pantheon of King adaptations, but it’s safe to say that, when people talk about Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, they will no doubt add this latest adaptation to the discussion. And Stephen King will probably end up arguing with old ladies in grocery stores about whether or not he wrote the story.
Some of the incidental music in this film, from Wang Chung to Steve Winwood to The Knack, will appeal to people of a certain age. The closing credits reveal the presence of someone familiar to the King community: the late Scott Wampler of the Kingcast podcast, who has a voice cameo in Act Three. Director Flanagan also flits by on the screen for the briefest of moments in Act One. Are there 19s? Of course, most of them lifted from King’s story.
King recently read his new introduction to the standalone volume The Life of Chuck, in which he reveals how the story came to be.
Signed copies of Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences are still available from Village Books in The Woodlands. Be sure to specify if you’d like a dedication and/or inscription on the order form. A new edition, Stephen King: His Life, Work, and Influences (Young Readers’ Edition), came out last September, which you can also order from Village Books.
Keep an eye out on the Lividian Publications patreon for news of another King-related chapbook..
