The Life of Chuck, 2025.
Written and Directed by Mike Flanagan.
Starring Tom Hiddleston, Matthew Lillard, Karen Gillan, Mark Hamill, David Dastmalchian, Annalise Basso, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Siegel, Mia Sara, Samantha Sloyan, Carl Lumbly, Rahul Kohli, Harvey Guillén, Jacob Tremblay, Nick Offerman, Heather Langenkamp, Molly C. Quinn, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Q’orianka Kilcher, Antonio Raul Garcia, Matt Biedel, Sauriyan Sapkota, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Michael Trucco, Violet McGraw, Benjamin Pajak, Taylor Gordon, Carla Gugino, Scott Wampler, Eric Vespe, Hamish Linklater, Cody Flanagan, Lauren LaVera, and Mike Flanagan.
SYNOPSIS:
A life-affirming, genre-bending story based on Stephen King’s novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.
Life is best understood in reverse. With The Life of Chuck, legendary author Stephen King and writer/director Mike Flanagan (synonymous with adapting his works) apparently subscribe to that belief. Unfolding across three acts and starting from the end, the narrative (based on the 2020 novella) follows Charles “Chuck” Krantz (played across his entire life by breakout youngster Benjamin Pajak, Room‘s Jacob Tremblay, and Tom Hiddleston who is seemingly temporarily free from Marvel projects), at first playing him up as a mysterious, enigmatic presence in a world enduring something resembling a modern day version of the bubonic plague.
Not only is climate change ravaging the world, including forest fires, earthquakes, and more, but Wi-Fi connections have flat out ceased to work. Something about this world is also off in a cosmic sense, which is beautifully expressed and realized through gorgeous shots of the stars bathed in neon colors. Much like everything else about this world, the universe is also breaking with some of those stars disappearing as if someone plucked them right out of the sky. Meanwhile, billboards, radio advertisements, TV commercials, and even written messages in the sky are thanking Chuck for 39 years of service, whatever that means.
Several characters are introduced conversing over this apocalyptic event (which is also a worthwhile excuse for Mike Flanagan to pop-in cameos from his regular acting collaborators to his wife to the late Scott Wampler, a beloved podcast associate, greatest of all time jokester celebrity interviewer – for the love of all that is holy, look up the Rian Johnson one if you have never read it – Nine Inch Nails fanatic, and all-around hilarious dunker of social media stupidity, whom the film is very fittingly dedicated to), with physics teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) given the most time of the bunch, trying to ascribe logic to what’s happening while taking these bleak times and searching for optimism during the acceptance stage, running with it as a potential opportunity to make up with an ex-partner he is still on good terms with, Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan).
One might be wondering what any of this has to do with Chuck. It has everything to do with him. He is introduced as terminally Ill, existentially reflecting on his life with the assistance of a narrator voiced by Nick Offerman. As such, the narrative travels backward to reveal everything about his life, from tragedy to lost passions to romance. This means that the third act, which is centered on a young Chuck, primarily connects the dots to what’s laid out in the first two acts. It also means the film has fewer compelling places to go from there. It disappointingly drifts away from a modern-day take on the plague, doubling down on the monologues and big scenes (here about the purpose of life) that Mike Flanagan has made a name for himself through several Netflix horror series. That’s not to say they don’t work here, because they do.
Mark Hamill (playing Chuck’s grandfather) and Mia Sara (Chuck’s grandma) deliver impassioned wisdom about life choices. Chiwetel Ejiofor breaks down the universe into a calendar year, hauntingly communicating what a blip our existence is. Sometimes, monologues are traded for showstopping dance numbers; one jubilantly and infectiously performed by Tom Hiddleston and a random partner (played by Annalise Basso) set to energetic street drumming (played by Taylor Gordon), and another at a school dance.
Most of it serves as a reminder that cloying melodrama is effective so long as there is a believable script, sincerity, and relatable characters to back it up. A film jumping headfirst from one life-altering event to another shouldn’t work, but it does since Mike Flanagan and the ensemble capture the emotional honesty while genuinely having beautiful messaging about life to drill into the viewer for two hours, ensuring they come away uplifted and walking on clouds.
However, there is still a lingering sensation that the longer The Life of Chuck goes on, it also swaps cosmic mysteries and a refreshing take on the apocalypse for a series of dramatic clichés tying together a life by diving into the past. The big-hearted material is still there, and there would be no point in telling this story chronologically. Still, that structure causes it to fizzle out before landing on a powerful moment that should prepare everyone to live life again, even if they are having a horrendous day. Much like life itself (and the gigantic laundry list of Stephen King adaptations), The Life of Chuck has its ups and downs, but tells an ambitiously unique story that indisputably stirs the soul..
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
