The Life of Chuck

“To their credit, the sublime and eerie production choices most definitely land in the early going. Going into this blindly, the imagination takes over, as one pieces together a surreal otherworldly experience in a setting that seems as if it is indeed planet Earth. An ominous congratulatory retirement ad campaign follows Chuck the accountant at nearly every turn. An unassuming man, the odd homage to such a regular fellow somehow manages to get under the skin of audiences in the same manner something like the smiling faces of Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun’ music video might. Fans of the ‘something just isn’t quite right here’ horror/sci-fi subgenre will find themselves immediately drawn to this strange set of circumstances. The real ‘holding my breath’ moment for this film is how the general public may ruin this mystique and effectiveness once the cat’s out of the bag as to what kind of movie this ends up being before later audiences have a chance to experience the chilling mood for themselves first.

“The film is a 3-act tale, and it doesn’t mind telling you that it is as a bit of meta-storytelling takes over. After an unnerving opening act, the missing colors begin to get shaded in just a bit in Act 2, which features a musical number that is sure to fill the internet with meme-tastic social media commentaries once the film goes to wide release.

“In these first two acts, the film is wonderful in letting the audience do a lot of active work in deciphering what this film is and where it’s all headed. It’s such a conglomeration of so many cinematic delights. The content and hints of meaning in the film is there, hidden perhaps, but with a careful eye, the juxtaposition of eerie with celebratory makes sense at least artistically, and audiences can even make a few assessments to try to piece a few fragments of the actual story together, even if it’s still not clear by any means.

“However, the third act is where it unravels for this audience member. The film is too afraid that audiences won’t get it, so the explain-a-thon begins, which undermines the careful storytelling hidden in the earlier two acts. The missing pieces could’ve been revealed in a much more subtle fashion, but this completely gets abandoned in that third act. It’s with this explanation that you may start to hear audible ‘oh, I get it now’ cries of relief, as the film hand-holds the audience all the way to the final credits. To say it is overkill is an understatement. What’s more is that it begins to rely on the ‘cute’ factor of incorporating young people into the overarching themes, as if it were a killswitch for any confusing parts in order to get general audiences on board and make sure they’re not lost.

“While it’s within most of us to seek out our inner child and return to days of innocence at times, there is a threshold of being over-sentimental, or at least there should be when the preceding two-thirds of a film is actually requiring some thought, insight, and introspection. The autonomy and mini-victories of the audience as a participant are stripped away by the film’s need to over-explain itself and to also revisit effective moments that could’ve effectively stood alone earlier in the film and, instead, been reflected on.  Films like this are so confounding because there is so very much to love at times, but they get in their own way during the concluding scenes. For many, this is fine and won’t be a problem; in fact, quite the contrary, this reviewer would expect nothing less than for this film to catapult into the realm of FORREST GUMP universal appreciation (often cited as my ‘worst film experience of all time’ if I had to be cornered on it). However, for those who typically shy away from overkill, this one may leave a bit of disappointment once it’s all said and done.

“Definitely a LOVE IT or HATE IT type of film.”

3 CATS OF OUT 5, objectively (but my dark, full-of-hatred heart really puts this more in the 2 CATS range for having my intelligence insulted so audaciously)”