Mike Flanagan‘s track record adapting the works of Stephen King isn’t just impressive because the movies he has made are independently phenomenal works that reflect a perfect understanding of the source material; it’s also because of the titles that he chooses are exceptionally challenging to adapt. His first, Gerald’s Game, is a story set almost entirely in a single location centering on a protagonist who is handcuffed to a bed and forced to confront memories of awful childhood abuse. His second, Doctor Sleep, is a sequel to one of the greatest horror films of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and also had to take into consideration King’s notorious dislike of Kubrick’s movie.
That brings us to the Toronto International Film Festival world premiere of The Life Of Chuck – which is based on a novella I read shortly after it was first published in 2020 and made me think, “Well, I guess this one is never going to get an adaptation.” But Mike Flanagan clearly has a very special brain, and he has once again succeeded in making one of the best Stephen King movies ever.
What makes the material such a challenge is found in both the story and the structure, and yet, Flanagan’s adaptation is perfectly faithful – going as far as to actually include Stephen King’s prose via wonderful narration by the great Nick Offerman. The film plays out in three specific acts that unfurl in reverse chronological order, each very different but all part of the same narrative.
Act III, titled “Thanks, Chuck,” follows an elementary school teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) as he navigates what are clearly the final days of the world, and he is mystified by ubiquitous advertising celebrating a man named Chuck Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) for “39 great years.” Act II, “Buskers Forever,” shifts focus to Chuck himself, who finds himself swept up by the beats of a drummer playing on the sidewalk (Taylor Gordon a.k.a. The Pocket Queen) and performs an impromptu dance with a young stranger (Annalise Basso). Lastly, Act I, “I Contain Multitudes,” explores Chuck’s childhood, growing up with his grandparents (Mark Hamill, Mia Sara) and discovering his love of dance.
The Life Of Chuck delivers a different tone than you might expect from a director and a novelist best known for their contributions to horror cinema and literature, but what is consistent from the two beloved creatives is their captivation with humanity, and in this case, it glows with earnestness and joy. As you may have gleaned from the title of Act I, there is a heavy influence from the Walt Whitman poem “Song of Myself, 51,”and the film is a beautiful examination of not only the preciousness of life but the incredible depths that each of us contain within ourselves. (I’ll note here that I am trying very, very hard to dance around spoilers for those of you who haven’t read the novella.)
Everything in The Life Of Chuck is connected, but each act also has its own identity and contributes to the whole in its own way. “Thanks, Chuck” is a cinematic apocalypse unlike anything you’ve ever seen in that Marty and the various people he encounters – including his ex-wife (Karen Gillan), his next door neighbor (Matthew Lillard) and the director of a local funeral home (Carl Lumbly) – are past the stages of fear, depression and anger, and become introspective about life and what it means to exist at the end of everything. And it’s quite funny as well, with characters lamenting PornHub going dark and questioning why the celebrating the apparent retirement of a stranger named Chuck Krantz would justify advertisement on billboards, television, radio and more.
Act I is remarkable, as it’s where the film not only executes a sweet and emotional coming-of-age tale, and Mike Flanagan aligns pieces of the story together in a way that is actually even more advanced than what Stephen King was able to accomplish on the page. That said, however, it’s Act II that is the great achievement of The Life Of Chuck, as it can be described as unfiltered joy – its centerpiece being an effervescent, five minute-plus dance sequence that you never want to end. In the middle of an absolutely normal day, the confluence of a busking drummer, a bespectacled accountant, and a woman furious after being broken up with via text leads to an awesome and unforgettable physical expression that wows both spectators in the scene and audiences watching it on the big screen. It’s special on a technical level and in the warmth it brings to your heart as you witness it.
We are currently in the midst of a Stephen King adaptation boom not seen since the 2017, with Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot, Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey, Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man and the IT prequel series Welcome To Derry all on the way in the near future, but Mike Flanagan’s passion for the author’s work is singular, and how he expresses it is awe-inspiring. Following The Life Of Chuck‘s premiere at TIFF, it will hopefully land a distribution deal soon, as it’s a film that I’m already anticipating watching over and over.
