Rob Reiner brought two Stephen King stories to iconic life.
The director’s “Stand By Me” and “Misery” captured very different sides of the horror maestro. The films are widely considered among the best King adaptions to date.
Now, it’s Mike Flanagan’s turn.
King’s go-to auteur directed “Doctor Sleep” along with the Netflix original “Gerald’s Game.” Their third collaboration, “The Life of Chuck,” is their most ambitious pairing by far.
The darn-near-impossible-to-describe tale follows a doomed man’s significant moments, which veer from darkly comic to bliss. “Chuck” echoes that description. The film barely holds together, but it’s impossible to deny how it nails life’s remarkable rhythms.
“The Life of Chuck” unfolds in three chapters in reverse order.
The first follows a high school teacher named Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) scrambling to make sense of curious, nationwide events. The Internet goes down in the film’s opening moments, and friends and strangers alike struggle to consider what’s next.
Is this the end of the world, or just a doom-scrolling time out? Some reactions prove bleakly comic, but the bigger picture is far from funny.
More importantly … why does the grinning face of a man named Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) keep appearing wherever Marty goes?
The first act brings endless questions and no obvious answers. It’s clever but quickly redundant, and the film stalls as its mysteries linger like an ache that won’t heal.
RELATED: STEPHEN KING: CANCEL THE OSCARS
Part two offers a more coherent narrative, helping us string some pieces together. We finally meet Chuck, a thoughtful gent who gets lost in the moment when he hears a street drummer’s tune. Turns out Chuck is a dancer at heart, and the ensuing sequence is both bloated and beautiful.
He’s joined by a heartbroken stranger (Annalise Basso). Together, they summon something magical, even if their partnership leaves the story’s Big Questions unanswered.
“Who is this gentleman, and why should we care about his ‘Life?'”
The final chapter digs into Chuck’s formative years, introducing his no-nonsense grandpa (Mark Hamill, excellent) and spry grandma (yes, that’s Sloane from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Mia Sara).
“The Life of Chuck” began as a novella in King’s “If It Bleeds” collection. Under Flanagan’s care, the story offers a slow-boil drama with a kiss of sci-fi fear. Performances are stellar across the board, especially Hamill’s turn as a grandpa tasked with raising an inquisitive child.
Hamill shoulders more than that narrative burden. He’s also tied to the film’s fantasy twist, and he handles both with grace.
Hiddleston gets less screen time than we expect, but he too establishes a character whose presence hangs over every frame.
Nick Offerman’s soothing voice narrates the story and holds the disparate sections together. We finally connect some of the curious story threads, but the tapestry doesn’t hang together quite like it should, even after the final “reveal.”
This “Life” feels magical yet unfulfilled despite Flanagan’s masterful sense of tonal shifts.
The director’s strength as the author’s tag-team partner? Finding the humanity within King’s warped world. That’s especially true throughout “The Life of Chuck.” The main character suffers more than his share of indignities, but his ability to soldier on while finding joy in the most unsuspecting places is palpable.
Few recent films feel as jubilant as “Chuck’s” best moments, more than enough reason to recommend this scattershot “Life.”
HiT or Miss: “The Life of Chuck” is a bold, invigorating trip through Stephen King’s imagination, but not every nook and cranny is worth a look.