Greetings again from the darkness. Well, we can’t really call this a feel-good movie. After all, the first segment (which is really the third) deals with what appears to be the early stages of the end of the world. Plus, it’s adapted from a Stephen King novella/short story and it’s directed by Mike Flanagan, who is best known for DOCTOR SLEEP (2019) and “The Haunting of Hill House” … not exactly the genes of a happy-go-lucky film experience. Still, beyond those points, it’s a terrific film that leaves us with an inspirational and life-affirming message.
The storytelling structure is worthy of forewarning. Reverse order, or backwards … the story of Charles “Chuck” Krantz is told mostly from old age to youth, rather than the traditional chronological order. Beginning with Act III, we get a glimpse of Chuck in a hospital bed, before picking up in the classroom where teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is informed by his smartphone-toting students that an earthquake has caused parts of California to collapse into the sea. This catastrophe has an impact on the parent-teacher conferences Marty holds … everyone wonders what’s the point – especially once internet is lost. This segment is subtitled, “Thanks, Chuck” because billboards everywhere are thanking the unknown Chuck for 39 great years. After the parent conferences with David Dastmalchian and Harvey Guillen, Marty crosses paths with his neighbor (Matthew Lilliard) and a funeral home director (Carl Lumbly), before re-connecting with his ex-wife (Karen Gillian). Rather than face the end of the world alone, Marty chooses to be with someone who has been special in his life. We understand.
Act II, “Buskers Forever”, delivers the most memorable scene from the movie. We meet the infamous “Chuck” from the billboards. It’s Tom Hiddleston who spontaneously plops down his briefcase and begins dancing to the beats of a street drummer (The Pocket Queen). Chuck’s fantastic dance steps draw a crowd and he invites bystander Janice (Annalise Basso) to join him. It’s a beautiful sequence guaranteed to put a smile on your face – just like with Chuck and Janice, both of whom have had a bad day. Hiddleston (as Chuck) only has about 20 minutes of screen time, but it will definitely stick with you.
Although those first two acts pack a wallop, it’s Act I, “I Contain Multitudes”, that carries much of the weight. Teen Chuck is played by Jacob Tremblay (ROOM, 2015), while even younger Chuck is played by a debuting Cody Flanagan (the director’s son). Chuck’s grandparents are played by Mia Sara (the girlfriend in FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, 1986) and Mark Hamill, both exceptional here. Grandma Sarah teaches young Chuck to find the joy in dancing, while Grandpa Albie has the best intentions with his not-so-great life advice. We also find Chuck’s teacher (Kate Siegel, Flanagan’s wife) explaining the Walt Whitman poem, “Song of Myself”, to young Chuck – it’s the same Whitman poem Marty was teaching early in the film.
Flanagan delivers an unusual way to look back on one’s life, and seems to stress the point that the view can be quite different from how you recall certain moments. An environmental and global event forces folks to live in that moment, but the lesson here is about all the other moments in our life. The message is to avoid obsessing about what could happen in the future and focus on what (and who) matters. Nick Offerman serves as the film’s narrator, and yes, some sentimentality is involved, yet it’s never an overdose. In fact, the story is likely to leave you in a contemplative state – analyzing how you deal with your moments. Maybe a dance?
Movie Reviews from the Dark 