‘The Life of Chuck’ - time is the essence.

Time to start watching shows with my hands covering my eyes, I guess.

Many a friend has opined their love for Mike Flanagan, and I couldn’t wait to watch ‘The Life of Chuck’ to get even just a sippy cup of a taste of his genius, and reader — he really is that good.

The story is at once hopeful, sappy and emotional. The visual stylings are very glossy, with that glow to it that I enjoy in Digital formats (when done correctly, and not overused to the point of everything feeling plastic). The performances were fantastic, but they were all in service of a story that was going to take off all by itself — a short story by Stephen King, which I recommend you don’t read before seeing the film.

The film, in the quietest and most unassuming, nuanced and kind way, asks the viewer to interrogate the dreams they left behind, the mysteries of the self they leave suppressed, the watershed moments they have used to build walls against the whimsy they wish to have experienced. We are all but specks in the wind of time, and many people in our lives will give us advice, but very few will live to see the consequence.

Come for the mystery, stay for the hug, leave with a purpose.