Justin Chang

Bob spends most of the movie running around in a plaid bathrobe and sporting a messy man bun, desperately trying to find Willa.

He gets some help from Willa's extremely resourceful martial arts teacher, played by a sensational Benicio Del Toro.

I'd watch a completely separate film focused just on Del Toro's character and what he calls his Latino Harriet Tubman situation, which offers migrants refuge and safe passage through Bacton Cross.

In 2014, Anderson directed a largely faithful adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's stoner detective novel, Inherent Vice.

One battle after another takes far more creative liberties with another Pynchon work, Vineland, which was set in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Although Anderson has shifted the time frame, the weave of zany dark comedy, sociopolitical satire, and controlled narrative chaos feels unmistakably Pynchonesque.

That's especially true of an outlandish subplot, or is it, involving a shadowy cabal of Christian nationalists whom Lockjaw is involved with.

Elsewhere, when protesters clash with riot police in Bacton Cross, the movie achieves the grit and immediacy of a guerrilla documentary.

It's safe to say that Anderson thinks America is in grim shape, which is nothing new.

In two of his best films, There Will Be Blood and The Master, he argued that violence, greed, and religious hucksterism are part of the national character.

But Anderson isn't a cynic.

I've always thought of him as a big-hearted pessimist, and here he's given us both a gonzo vision of a nation at war with itself and a deeply resonant father-daughter love story.

What's ultimately most striking about one battle after another is its extraordinary tenderness, as Bob and Willa try to find their way back to each other.

The worst of times really can bring out the best of humanity.

The best of movies, too.

The writer and director Mike Flanagan has become a well-regarded name in modern horror. known for his TV versions of The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher. He's also made a couple of Stephen King adaptations, including the films Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep, and he's currently working on a new series version of Carrie.

The writer and director Mike Flanagan has become a well-regarded name in modern horror. known for his TV versions of The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher. He's also made a couple of Stephen King adaptations, including the films Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep, and he's currently working on a new series version of Carrie.

The writer and director Mike Flanagan has become a well-regarded name in modern horror. known for his TV versions of The Haunting of Hill House and The Fall of the House of Usher. He's also made a couple of Stephen King adaptations, including the films Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep, and he's currently working on a new series version of Carrie.

His latest movie, The Life of Chuck, is both a continuation of this trend and a bit of a departure from it. It's based on a 2020 King novella that draws on horror conventions without quite becoming a full-blown horror story. King's work can be unabashedly sentimental as well as genuinely scary. And this movie is a mystery with a maudlin streak.

His latest movie, The Life of Chuck, is both a continuation of this trend and a bit of a departure from it. It's based on a 2020 King novella that draws on horror conventions without quite becoming a full-blown horror story. King's work can be unabashedly sentimental as well as genuinely scary. And this movie is a mystery with a maudlin streak.