Movie Review: THE LIFE OF CHUCK

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: June 6th, 2025 / 03:00 AM

Rating: R
Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, Cody Flanagan, Mark Hamill, Annaliese Basso, The Pocket Queen, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Q’orianka Kilcher, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, Matthew Lillard, David Dastmalchian, Harvey Guillén, Heather Langenkamp, Nick Offerman (voice)
Writer: Mike Flanagan, based on the short story by Stephen King
Director: Mike Flanagan
Distributor: Neon
Release Date: June 6, 2025

There are certain things that work better in different mediums. Interior monologues, for example, are usually best on the page, whereas dancing is generally better seen than described.

This works to the advantage of the film version of THE LIFE OF CHUCK, writer/director Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novella. (Yes, the credits call it a short story. It’s sixty-two pages. According to Google, that’s a novella.) The movie features two pivotal dance sequences, both involving the character of Charles “Chuck” Krantz, one as an adult (Tom Hiddleston) and the other as a junior high school student (Benjamin Patak). These are exhilarating to watch in ways that are enjoyable but not as galvanizing to read.

Those who think the combination of author King and filmmaker Flanagan automatically equals horror will find that’s not the case here. While THE LIFE OF CHUCK begins with a slow-moving apocalypse, and has a tiny bit of supernatural tinge, it’s mainly a meditation on what makes life worthwhile.

Like the novella, THE LIFE OF CHUCK movie is divided into three chapters, which go backwards. We start with Act III: “Thanks, Chuck!” We are in a pleasant-looking suburb, where high school teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) must deal with not only distracted students, but their parents, who are preoccupied with all the things that are going wrong and vanishing.

The world is undergoing a series of natural and political catastrophes large and small, including the collapse of most of California into the Pacific and riots in Russia. Of more immediate concern to the locals in Marty’s community is the failure of the Internet.

Marty’s ex-wife Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan), a hospital ER nurse, is on the medical team coping with a wave of attempted (and sometimes successful) suicides. Still on good terms, Felicia and Marty confer about strange occurrences, what it all means, and whether the world is perhaps coming to an end.

One of the more baffling recent developments is the sudden prevalence of billboards and commercials, all with a picture of a smiling, business-suited man (Hiddleston) and the message: “39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!” Who is this guy, and why is he being so widely celebrated in this way?

We get some answers in Acts II and III, which fill us in on Chuck’s in the present, as well as his childhood (where he’s played as a seven-year-old by Cody Flanagan) and adolescence (Patak, then Jacob Tremblay as seventeen-year-old Chuck).

Flanagan’s fidelity to King’s source material extends far enough to include narration, voiced by Nick Offerman. While this is a bit intrusive, it helps fill in gaps that could be hard to parse otherwise. It’s certainly a time-saver in terms of getting to what is important to Chuck and to the movie.

Flanagan does tweak and add elements here and there, sometimes to add dimension, sometimes to clarify how certain things may work.

The casting is glorious, packed from leads to cameos with excellent actors, many from Flanagan’s repertory company, and others simply topnotch pros.

Mandy Moore’s choreography is sublime, exuberantly performed by Hiddleston, partnered with Annaliese Basso, and Patak, paired with Trinity Jo-Li Bliss. Drummer The Pocket Queen contributes substantially to the Hiddleston/Basso matchup.

People are going to debate both the meaning and the merits of THE LIFE OF CHUCK (spirited discussion broke out immediately after a press screening). There are a couple of big twists in THE LIFE OF CHUCK. Without spoiling these, it’s hard to discuss the specifics, much less argue their merits.

One interpretation of the film is that its essential statement is that life’s moments of delight are what make it worthwhile. We understand that the concept didn’t have to be put forth via dance, but as it is, this is as comprehensive a depiction of pure joy as can be delivered.

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