Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 111 mins

The Life of Chuck is the new film by Mike Flanagan and an adaptation of the 2020 Stephen King novella, which was part of If It Bleeds, a collection of four previously unpublished stories. One of these stories also includes Mr Harrigan’s Phone, which was adapted into a Donald Sutherland-starring film back in 2022. Flanagan is no stranger to Stephen King, having previously directed the underwhelming Gerald’s Game but the sensational Doctor Sleep, and he’s currently filming a new Carrie television series. However, it’s Flanagan’s first non-horror film and is quite atypical for a Stephen King story.

A fantasty drama, The Life of Chuck is divided into three acts that play out in reverse order. In Act 3, we meet middle school teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) as the world begins to seemingly end – there’s a worldwide loss of internet and frequent natural diasters. There are posters all over town of Chuck Krantz (Tom Hiddleston), celebrating his 39 years of service, but we don’t meet or learn any more than that about Chuck until Act 2, which is set nine months before his death. In Act 1, we then learn about Chuck’s formative years.

The Life of Chuck is another good Stephen King adapation from Flanagan, and often borders on greatness. Although it contains some of King’s trademark elements of a small town community, the plot and themes are very nuanced – this is a film that will likely improve on future viewings, especially because lots of the fun of a first viewing is piecing together the backwards narrative. The film is quite strange and profound in equal measure, and some may be frustrated that it often moves at a slow, fairytale-like pace. Flanagan’s screenplay showcases both his best and worst traits – its profundity and intriguing narrative are its strengths, but the signature monologues he often resorts to in his television series hold this film back a little. The film’s also handsomely shot by Eben Bolter, a departure from Flanagan’s regular cinematographer Michael Fimognari.

There’s some good performances here, too. While Tom Hiddleston gets top billing, he isn’t in the film very much, but makes a remarkable impression with a showstopper dance sequence in Act 2. Chiwetel Ejiofor is another highlight as the schoolteacher, always reliably brilliant in whatever he’s in, and Mark Hamill is twinkly as Chuck’s grandfather. Flanagan’s usual recurring cast also pop up, including Carl Lumbly, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli and his wife, Kate Siegel – all are excellent, as usual.

While I suspect The Life of Chuck may struggle to find a mainstream audience, this is an atypical Mike Flanagan adapation of an unconventional Stephen King novel. That it’s always entertaining, sometimes profound and certainly ambitious, is to be applauded and this is a film that’s likely to improve on future viewings.