The Life of Chuck (M) – 111 minutes

To live a life that is worthwhile and meaningful, one from which you can derive joy.

That is what I take away from The Life of Chuck, in which drama and fantasy are intertwined.

Based on a short story by Stephen King, it unfolds in three chapters in reverse order, outlining the life of a decent, ordinary man named Charles Krantz.

Act Three, which is told first, is about the strange events leading to the end of the world, in which the planet is crumbling.

Floods, fire and earthquakes proliferate. The internet no longer works and TV is soon to follow.

Felicia Gordon (Karen Gillan) has become more of an undertaker than the nurse that she is.

She reaches out to her ex-husband. He is a considerate teacher named Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is struggling to deal with the angst felt by parents of the children in his class.

In trepidation and fear, Felicia and Marty reconnect.

All around them, they see posters, billboards and commercials containing the same message: Charles Krantz. 39 Great Years. Thanks, Chuck.

But no-one knows who Chuck Krantz is and why he features so prominently, while the world teeters on the brink.

Next, we move back to a time that mild mannered accountant Krantz (then played by Tom Hiddleston), briefcase in hand, unexpectedly stops in front of a busker.

That music store worker cum street artist is stylish drummer Taylor Franck (The Pocket Queen).

Krantz picks up the beats and starts to sway and then dance, performing the most magnificent and natural moves you are likely to see.

He takes a partner from the crowd that has gathered.

She is a young woman named Janice Halliday (Annalise Basso) who has just been jilted by her boyfriend of 16 months and is feeling low.

She, too, quickly moves to the rhythm and the pair dances up a storm – joyful and triumphant – well received by all.

And then comes Act One, when we are introduced to a young Charles Krantz (Benjamin Pajak).

He lost his parents and unborn sister when he was just seven years old.

He was brought up by his grandmother Sarah (Mia Sara), who introduced him to the power of dance, and his over imbibing accountant grandfather Albie (Mark Hamill).

While they cared deeply for him, the one place that was off limits was the locked attic in their period home, built in 1885, because Albie feared what he had seen there.

Charles took dance classes at school under the tutelage of teacher Miss Rohrbacher (Samantha Sloyan) and proved to be a particularly adept mover.

He put that into practice with a taller and older student, Cat McCoy (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), at the school formal, for which both received widespread acclamation.

So, where does all this leave us?

You pull together the threads and you get the full picture of the life and times of Charles Krantz – a life well lived, with several unexpected turns.

It is a story beautifully told by writer and director Mike Flanagan, who has now worked with Stephen King four times.

The Life of Chuck is a sensitive, life-affirming tale with supernatural elements to it.

It is marked by two superb, enchanting and invigorating dance sequences that would give Gene Kelly (Singin’ in the Rain – 1952) a run for his money.

The movie is deliberately mysterious and benefits enormously from being told in reverse, as characters cross between chapters to gradually reveal the full picture.

I was particularly taken by the humanity that Chiwetel Ejiofor injects into the teacher, along with the joie de vivre inherent in Mia Sara as the grandmother.

All three Charles Krantzs, reflecting him at different ages (the one not yet mentioned is played by Jacob Tremblay), are well realised.

Still, it is the slickest of dance moves that elevate Hiddleston and newcomer Pajak.

Around them, the cast doesn’t miss a beat.

I walked out of the cinema feeling enriched for the experience.

Rated M, The Life of Chuck scores an 8½ out of 10.