Beat the Heat: The Life of Chuck (2025)
Director: Mike Flanagan Run Time: 110 min. Rating: R Release Year: 2025
Starring: Benjamin Pajak, Cody Flanagan, Jacob Tremblay, Nick Offerman, Tom Hiddleston
Country: United States
Language: English
Presented as part of the free, “Beat the Heat” community screenings in partnership with Columbus City Council on Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27, 2025. Visit Gateway Film Center to pick up complimentary tickets. Doors open at 11:00am and admission includes a snack popcorn and bottled soda. Thank you for supporting local, nonprofit cinema!
About the film:
With The Life of Chuck, Mike Flanagan takes a detour from the macabre to explore one of Stephen King’s alternate sensibilities in an adaptation that carries the spirit of his most optimistic work. The world feels like it’s ending and everybody’s saying goodbye to Chuck. Wherever Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) goes, he can’t get away from Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). His face is showing up on billboards, window signs — even TV commercials. What’s so special about this seemingly ordinary accountant and why does he warrant such a sendoff?
Their connection includes Marty’s ex-wife (Karen Gillan), her co-worker, his neighbour, and just about everyone else they know. Chuck’s life story soon begins to unravel in front of us, going back to a childhood with grandfather Albie (Mark Hamill), who teaches him about accounting and passes on a love for dancing, all the while keeping him from a prophetic secret in the attic.
The Life of Chuck starts grand and ends intimate, like a setting sun. It’s a Stand By Me for the multiple lives within each of us, pulled between our dreams and down-to-earth pragmatism. Fans of Flanagan’s skillful storytelling in The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and Doctor Sleep will easily see why he gravitated towards the unorthodox structure of this King novella. Coupled with his impressive knack for elevating simple conversations and interactions into memorable set pieces, Flanagan manages a rare feat: finding warmth in melancholy.
About the filmmaker:
Mike Flanagan is an American filmmaker known for his work in the horror genre. He has written, directed, produced, and edited several horror films, including Absentia, Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and Gerald’s Game. He also adapted Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep for film and created the limited series The Haunting of Hill House. Flanagan’s work is praised for its fresh approach to the genre, and for avoiding jump scares.
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