From the moment the first teaser for Mike Flanagan's latest Stephen King adaptation, The Life Of Chuck, dropped last month, we knew we were in trouble. A ticking clock motif, lush golden hour lighting, and a touch of delicate piano work were enough to assure us that we're getting Flanagan, Master of Feels, rather than Flanagan, Master of Horror, here. And now, with the release of the full trailer for the Doctor Sleep filmmaker's latest, a Tom Hiddleston starring adaptation of the second tale in King's If It Bleeds anthology, the floodgates are well and truly open. Just give it a watch and you'll see what we mean;
“When you look up at the night sky, it can tell you stuff about your future,” says Mark Hamill's Albie Krantz to grandson Chuck (variously played by Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, and Cody Flanagan) at the start of this new trailer over shots of the twinkling cosmos. “They won’t lie to you,” Albie continues. “It’s pure that way. You might see a lot more than you wanted, but if you have heart, you have hope. And you have heart in you.” It's a classic, heartstring tugging Flanagan monologue, and one that soundtracks a tantalising glimpse at what looks to be the director's most emotionally charged movie yet. There's dancing in the street, match-cuts from youth to adulthood, a crying Matthew Lillard, and a smiling Chiwetel Ejiofor too, as well as blink-and-you'll-miss-em appearances from Karen Gillan, Carl Lumbly, and Mia Sara as Chuck's mum, all of which hint at the mysteries surrounding our unlikely hero, whose life story is told here in three chapters — and in reverse.
In terms of the wider plot machinations of The Life Of Chuck, we know that the source novella marries Chuck's ordinary life with the extraordinary end of the world, a set-up that's reflected in the softly elegiac tone of what we see here. But as for just how exactly we get to that moment, why everything's coming up Krantz, and what Flanagan has in store to fill our hearts and then mercilessly break them... well that, like Chuck himself, remains a mystery for the time being. Stay tuned for answers when The Life Of Chuck hits cinemas on 22 August. And bring tissues, eh? We're gonna need 'em...