I am from Indiana, and therefore I am rhythmically impaired. I cannot dance. I would have to improve to become a bad dancer.
But I love watching people dance.
I haven’t seen anything as joyful as the dancing in The Life of Chuck since Fred Astaire danced up the walls in Royal Wedding.
Four actors play Chuck in this new film by Mike Flanagan. As a young boy, Chuck (Benamin Pajak) is taught to dance by his grandmother (Mia Sara; be still my heart).
Against social norms of middle school, the boy joins the dance club. So there are scenes with Chuck and his much-taller dance partner (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) from an upper grade.
Together, the young couple dazzles their classmates by moonwalking.
You’ll wish you were that age again. I’ve always thought that middle school was the worst period of life. This film makes me want to reassess.
So there’s some lovely scenes with the young folks.
And then there’s the adult Chuck, played by Tom Hiddleston. He starts dancing in the street, inspired by a drumming busker. He sees a young woman (Annalise Basso) in the crowd, who is recently brokenhearted. He extends his hand and thus begins another life-affirming dance sequence.
The film is also in part, a love note to caring teachers. (Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kate Siegel play the teachers.)
Mark Hamill is wonderful as Chuck’s grandfather and he uses his voice and gravitas so well. And Matthew Lilliard has a deeply moving life-is-short scene.
I’m not going to tell you anything else about the movie, because you should go into the theater knowing nothing. Experience the joy of discovery. I’m sure Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are in heaven, giving us two thumbs up for this picture. I urge you to see it.
This is based on the novella by Stephen King. l best love King’s stories that do not involve the supernatural. He’s so good at writing about kids. “The Body” (filmed as Stand By Me) is a great example of how he has expertly mined his childhood.
I am rarely so moved by a film. I didn’t cry but I came close.
(Then again, I often get weepy at the movies. I was a blubbering mess when I took son Jackson with me to A Minecraft Movie. He was so embarrassed by my behavior that he made me walk 11 steps behind him when we left the theater.)
