‘The Life of Chuck’ Movie Review: Mike Flanagan Adapts Stephen King’s Overly Sentimental Novella
Photo from Neon
From Jeff Nelson
Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Oculus) and Stephen King seem like a heavenly pairing, and their voices do harmonize – just not how you’d expect. The Life of Chuck is less of a horror story than a fantastical, existential drama laced with comedy. That isn’t to say it doesn’t touch on the theme of fear. It lingers in humanity’s dread of mortality and longing, rather than screams and jump scares.
“The Life of Chuck” is one of four unpublished King novellas compiled in If It Bleeds. Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) is an ordinary man at the center of three acts that work backwards in pursuit of discovering the extraordinary truth behind his impending fate.
Starting with “Act Three,” the world’s collapse is chronicled from the perspective of small-town schoolteacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his ex-wife, Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan). With the Internet gone and constant natural disasters wreaking havoc on the world, it’s clear the apocalypse is among them. They notice a strange glitch in the matrix – an advertisement thanking Chuck for “39 great years!” Even amid a technological blackout and environmental collapse, the townsfolk obsess over the mysterious man plastered on billboards, TV, and radio stations. Nobody knows who he is, yet he appears everywhere. Thirty-nine great years of what? Why are these strange advertisements only appearing now?
Even the most unremarkable people are enigmas, woven from life’s delights and hardships. “Act Two” and “Act One” give answers to the mysteries of its first third, but only enough to appease its narrative mysteries. The deeper questions are left unanswered, committing to the film’s general disinterest in philosophizing life’s broadest puzzles. Nick Offerman’s dry narration disappointingly erases all personal ambiguity, spoon-feeding emotions that the actors could’ve conveyed. It may honor King’s text, but it undermines the cast’s talents and the story’s ability to tug on the heartstrings. This method of storytelling works better on the page than on the screen.
The Life of Chuck is more a wistful collection of vignettes than a complete, single narrative. There isn’t anything wrong with that. It just takes time for Flanagan to find the right rhythm among the multiple beats. Once he does, the sentimentality hits a high note with the tremendous “Act Two.” Centered on an electrifying dance number, the sequence pairs a troubled Chuck with a heartbroken Lauren (Annalise Basso). To an impromptu dreambeat, they rediscover life’s joys, twirling and stomping their way into our hearts. I didn’t want it to end.
Finally, “Act One” follows Chuck’s childhood. We discover the source of his greatest joys and traumas that encircle his relationship with his grandfather (Mark Hamill) and his love for dance. This coming-of-age segment connects the story’s dots to make sense of the two previous acts. This is where the film unveils its greatest revelations that I won’t mention here. It features a ghostly Victorian-era home turret that more closely taps into the Flanagan we’re familiar with.
His adaptation is most successful when he shows, rather than tells. “Act One” is touching and compelling, but it’s too focused on making sense of “Act Three” to fully immerse itself in the moment. It’s rather strange that Flanagan doesn’t entirely trust his talented cast. Hamill is the surprise standout, walking the line between the caring and stern grandfather.
This dewy-eyed drama is, at its core, a ghost story haunted by apparitions of the past, present, and future – each echoing the vast universe within a single, ordinary life. Flanagan strikes a strong tonal balance between weepy sentimentality, eerie darkness, and snarky comedy. Yet, Offerman’s narration hinders the film, reducing segments to audiobook territory that sabotages depth. Still, like life itself, The Life of Chuck finds meaning in small moments – good and bad – that coalesce into something poignant. A touching but uneven tribute to life’s fleeting magic, occasionally marred by over-narration.
Rating: 3.5/5
The Life of Chuck hits theaters on June 6th, 2025.
