Tom Hiddleston’s ‘The Life of Chuck’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award

Rebecca Rubin

15 September 2024 at 11:11 am·1-min read

“The Life of Chuck,” a feel-good apocalyptic story starring Tom Hiddleston and directed by Mike Flanagan, took home the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award.

This prize has historically been a reliable predictors of eventual Oscar success. In past years, winners such as “Green Book” and “Nomadland” went on to capture the best picture prize at the Academy Awards. Last year’s award went to Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” while 2022’s was bestowed to Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” both of which were best picture nominees and major forces during awards season.

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It’s unclear if that’ll be the case this year, though “The Life of Chuck” has received largely positive reviews. Variety’s Siddhant Adlakha praised the film’s “wild tonal shifts between horror and naked sentimentality that work with surprising precision, to a litany of fun supporting characters played by Flanagan regulars, and a general rejection of cynicism even in the face of despondency.”

At this year’s festival, the first runner-up for the audience award was “Emilia Perez” while the second runner up was Sean Baker’s “Anora.” The audience prize for the festival’s Midnight Madness series went to Demi Moore’s “The Substance” and the documentary award went to “The Tragically Hip No Dress Rehearsal.” All films in TIFF’s official selection are eligible for the people’s choice award, which is voted on by the viewing public.

More to come…

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