Hello, and welcome to the Geeky Brummie Film Roundup! Each week we take you through the biggest new cinema releases and why you should be excited for them. This week is all about the ups and downs of life, with films about celebrating the joys of a life well lived, surviving the societal effects of covid, and coping with trauma.
Usual disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, I haven’t seen these movies yet so all of my opinions are based on trailers, early reviews and other rumours and buzz.
The Life of Chuck
I was fortunate enough to go to a preview screening of The Life of Chuck last week. Based on a short story by Stephen King, the film is split into three segments.
The first shows a world on the brink of apocalypse. California is slipping into the sea, the internet has gone down across the planet, and mysterious billboards are popping up congratulating Charles Krantz on 39 great years. As they make peace with each other and the end of the world, ex-husband and wife Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Felicia (Karen Gillan) become increasingly obsessed with figuring out who Krantz is, clinging to it as a distraction from all the horrible events going on around them. This is the film’s most compelling chapter – it feels like an alarmingly accurate portrayal of how the Earth’s final days might play out, with snippets of news filtering through from dying media and word of mouth, leaving people with nothing to do but calmly reminisce, philosophise and wait for the end.
Fortunately, the second segment is as joyous as the first was melancholy. Taking us back a few years, we are introduced to Charles “Chuck” Krantz himself (Tom Hiddleston), an accountant who has always felt like his life should amount to more. As he’s walking down the street one day, he’s captivated by a busking drummer (the hugely talented Taylor Gordon) and, on the spur of the moment, decides to put down his briefcase and start dancing to the beat. There isn’t much more to it than that, but the way it’s set up feels truly magical – an office worker’s daydream playing out in the real world in a riot of colour and music and expression.
For the final section, we’re taken back to Chuck’s childhood. Now played by Jacob Tremblay, we are told how he grew up with his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), was influenced by his schoolteachers (Kate Siegel and Samantha Sloyan), met his first sweetheart (Trinity Bliss) and learned what was waiting in his grandfather’s locked attic. On the whole it’s less memorable than the other segments, but there are some beautiful moments in there – Hamill’s speech about maths being a surprising highlight – and the ending quietly sets everything that came before it into a poignant context that will stick with you as you leave the cinema. The real joy of this chapter is watching it sow the seeds (some less subtly than others) of the first two chapters, charting how the influences of our formative years shape every level of the person we grow into.
The Life of Chuck is directed by Mike Flanagan – the man behind such excellent Netflix ghost stories as The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass – and although this is a lot less spooky, several of his trademarks are there: actions that echo through time, the everyday heroism of humanity, and of course the presence of his wife Kate Siegel. This is his third big screen Stephen King adaptation after Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, and he clearly has a strong understanding of what makes King’s writing so effective. The trailer includes a quote from Collider saying this is the best Stephen King adaptation ever made, which is high praise considering that list also includes The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption and The Shining. I’m not sure I would go quite that far, but it is a beautiful film that makes you want to go out, find your passion and live your life to the fullest.
- The Life of Chuck on IMDB
- The Life of Chuck on Rotten Tomatoes
Eddington
Set in May 2020 at the height of the pandemic, Eddington follows sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) as he runs for mayor of the small town of Eddington. This sets him against the incumbent mayor, Ted Garcia (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal, with his third cinema release in less than a month).
This one is directed by Ari Aster, the man behind modern horror classics Hereditary and Midsommar, as well as the brilliantly surreal Beau Is Afraid. It seems to represent a major tonal shift from his previous work, eschewing fantastical horrors for the very real horror of covid. Rather than focusing on the immediate effects of the pandemic – the deaths, illness and isolation – Eddington is more about the longer-lasting polarising effects that anti-covid measures had on society. Joe represents the conservative right, pushing for personal freedoms instead of restrictions, while Ted is the progressive left, trying to do what’s best for everyone in the longer term. It might look like a western at first glance with Phoenix’s white sheriff’s hat and the small-town American setting, but this is first and foremost a political satire.
The film is getting some great reviews, and there certainly seems to be a lot going for it. Aster’s movies have been consistently compelling to watch, and like his previous work this is produced by A24 which is always a sign of quality. As well as Phoenix and Pascal, the excellent cast also includes Emma Stone, Austin Butler and Deirdre O’Connell. And the relative recency of covid means that a lot of the plot points will strike a powerful chord with the audience, regardless of whether they would vote for Joe or Ted. This should be well worth a watch.
- Eddington on IMDB
- Eddington on Rotten Tomatoes
Sorry, Baby
Written by, directed by and starring Eva Victor in her feature film debut, Sorry, Baby follows Agnes (Victor) as she navigates her life following a traumatic sexual assault. Like The Life of Chuck, it is broken into three chapters which tell the story in a non-linear order, opening with Agnes in her late 20s before skipping back in time to show how her former tutor assaulted her, and then setting out some of the events in between. She’s supported throughout by her best friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie) and a very cute cat.
While some Me Too dramas lean heavily into the event itself and the devastation it can have on a person, Sorry, Baby is more about Agnes’ refusal to let what happened define her – again like Chuck, it’s life affirming and optimistic. Victor is getting a lot of praise for the way she balances the grimness of her subject matter with humour and warmth, and the film has done very well on the festival circuit – she is clearly an emerging talent and someone whose career will be worth keeping an eye on.
- Sorry, Baby on IMDB
- Sorry, Baby on Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
Chuck your lot in with The Life of Chuck.
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
- Together – A strange and unsettling parable about co-dependence in a relationship, Together has some very icky bits. It’s not as out-there as The Substance, or as shocking as Bring Her Back, but there are still some scenes that will definitely make you wince. Carpenter and Cronenberg are clear influences on some of the gnarlier body horror scenes, and the occult backstory dropped in during the finale does a neat job of resolving the film’s mysteries, but in some ways the most disturbing moments are the more subtle ones, where the characters’ discomfort feels a little more relatable. A scene in a bathroom cubicle in particular will have men and women in the audience crossing their legs…
- Weapons
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Trailer of the Week
Adapting the videogame series, the first season of Fallout was a huge hit – proving again that the curse of game adaptations in the cinema hasn’t made its way to streaming services. Following Ella Purnell’s Lucy, Aaron Moten’s Maximus and Walton Goggins’ Ghoul, the post-apocalyptic drama was thrilling and funny in equal measure. The trailer for season 2 debuted at Gamescom this week and looks just as exciting as the first, with more of the Ghoul’s backstory, more radioactive beasties, and more new characters including Justin Theroux’s Mr House. Fans of the game will no doubt find plenty of Easter eggs in here to get excited over, but whether you’ve played the game or not, this is something to look forward to. It returns to Amazon Prime on 17 December.
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