'The Life of Chuck' review: Soulful Stephen King movie is 2025's best so far
“The Life of Chuck” doesn’t have any demonic clowns, killer pets or telekinetic kids. It’s also, in its own way, the most amazing story Stephen King ever told, a brilliant novella that begins at the end of the world and winds up in a haunted attic.
Fortunately, “Chuck” (★★★★ out of four; rated R; in select theaters June 6, nationwide June 13) is made by a filmmaker who gets King like none other. Writer/director Mike Flanagan (“Doctor Sleep,” “Gerald’s Game”) captures the uplifting and bittersweet qualities of King’s prose and brings his own gift for character depth to the story of Charles Krantz, played by four talented thespians (including Tom Hiddleston).
Flanagan, also to his credit, goes all in on the legendary author’s unconventional storytelling, a lifetime that unfurls in three acts and in reverse.
The first centers not on Chuck but schoolteacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor). He’s making his way through pointless parent-teacher conferences even as the end times have arrived – the internet’s down, the world’s falling apart, etc. – and people are dealing in whatever ways they can. Some walk around like zombies waiting for the sky to fall (literally or figuratively), and people go to jobs though there's nothing for them to do.
What really weirds Marty out, though, is the strange billboards emblazoned “39 great years! Thanks Chuck!” and the image of Chuck at his desk with a cup of coffee. Marty reaches out to his nurse ex-wife Felicia (Karen Gillan), who's also at a loss about what the deal is with this Chuck guy, and they reconnect as everything grows dark around them.
We finally meet the mysterious Chuck in the rousing second act, with a sequence straight out of “La La Land.” Our man is an accountant skipping out on a day of work who winds up in a busy square and, inexplicably, begins to dance to the beat of a drumming busker. Chuck enlists the help of a young woman named Janice (Annalise Basso) and they enjoy a crowd cheering to the exhilaration of their samba- and swing-fueled moves.
But the Capraesque third act is where the movie finally reveals itself, as Cody Flanagan, Benjamin Pajak and Jacob Tremblay play Chuck in various stages as a kid navigating joy, tragedy and a child-like understanding of a bigger picture. This part of the story also employs some smooth moves – including Michael Jackson's moonwalk – as well as some deeper thoughts courtesy of Chuck's lovably crusty grandpa Albie, played by Mark Hamill. Sure, he's forever Luke Skywalker, but Albie is just as much a role he was born to play.
Narrated in folksy style by Nick Offerman, the movie features a deep bench of supporting actors, many from the regular troupe Flanagan has employed for movies and Netflix horror shows such as “Midnight Mass.” Kate Siegel has a pivotal role as Chuck's English teacher, while Matthew Lillard and Carl Lumbly shine in small but poignant parts amid an impending apocalypse. All the Chucks are spot on as well: Hiddleston is a magnetic Everyman, even in limited screen time as the lead of the movie, and young Pajak notches a star-making turn opposite Hamill.
What is 'The Life of Chuck' about?
Every member of the cast contributes in a small way to the collective beauty of the soulful film’s themes, its exploration of humanity and grand existential questions. Who do you want by your side when it all ends? What happens if you choose practicality over creativity? Do you make the most of every moment of your life? It’s a thought-provoking, big-hearted effort where you can see Chuck as one ordinary guy or a reflection of the multitudes contained within us all.
Flanagan juggles a variety of moods and emotions throughout, so even if they seem disparate alone, they all make sense in context. There's impending doom, buoyant revelry, intimate drama, coming-of-age wonder and, yes, even some unnerving terror. (We are dealing with the author of "It" and "The Shining," so it can't all be puppies and rainbows.)
If you want to go for the really scary stuff, there are plenty of other King movies for that. “Chuck” instead is something truly special, a moving fantasy of a life well lived and no dance step left untaken.
How to watch 'The Life of Chuck'
Based on the Stephen King novella, "The Life of Chuck" is in select theaters June 6 and nationwide June 13. The film is rated R by the Motion Picture Association "for language."