Mike Flanagan’s new film The Life of Chuck begins as a doomsday tale, as small-town residents facing the end of the world are distracted by omnipresent ads celebrating a man named Chuck Krantz (played by Tom Hiddleston). As it continues in reverse chronological order, the movie, adapted from Stephen King's novella of the same name, reveals its true strength as a genre-bending drama about all the joys that give existence its worth despite its inevitable end. For Chuck, that lifelong joy is dance, which proves to be the emotional heart that powers the entire film.
Flanagan tapped choreographer Mandy Moore to infuse her love of movement into each of the film’s standout scenes. Whether they’re aware of it or not, almost every well-versed pop culture fan has become acquainted with Moore’s work. The 49-year-old dancer from Colorado (no relation to the actress of the same name) had already won three Emmys, worked with Taylor Swift, and choreographed Oscar-winning movies like La La Land and Silver Linings Playbook (not to mention the Oscars themselves) before she joined Flanagan’s production. For The Life of Chuck, which follows the titular man’s life in reverse to show how the events of his childhood influence the end of the world, Moore crafted routines that Chuck performs throughout his life. This spans from his middle-school days (then played by Benjamin Pajak) in an after-school dance club, to a seven-minute-long performance between Hiddleston, Annalise Basso, and drummer/recording artist The Pocket Queen (playing a busker) that becomes the most carefree moment of Chuck’s life.
