“Life of Chuck” is a peculiar movie with grandiose ambitions. It teases out a cosmic mystery about life and some guy named Charles Krantz ( Tom Hiddleston ) in a story told in reverse chronological order that gets smaller and smaller with each act. This is a story that begins with the apocalypse and ends with a middle school dance. Well, kind of. I’m not out to spoil (much) here.

It’s based on a novella by Stephen King (part of his “If It Bleeds” collection of stories) and adapted by filmmaker Mike Flanagan, who was also behind “Gerald’s Game” and “Doctor Sleep.” This, however, is not a horror movie, though there are spooky elements laden with ominous ambiguity. There are also big, joyful dance numbers, a fair share of cynical jokes, whimsical narration from Nick Offerman, earnest conversations about the end of the world and plenty of references to Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” — in particularly “I am large, I contain multitudes.” That is most movingly conveyed in a sweet scene with a teacher (Kate Siegel) and a middle school aged Chuck ( Benjamin Pajak ) on the last day of school.

“Life of Chuck” wants to make you think, feel, laugh and cry about the most mundane of characters: Krantz, a white, American, middle-aged accountant, whose life is modest and whose childhood was full of tragedy and loss. And while I certainly enjoyed elements of this odyssey in reverse, I was ultimately left feeling very little — especially about Chuck and the questionable end-of-film explanation that ties it all together.

This image released by Neon shows Karen Gillan in a scene from “The Life of Chuck.” (Neon via AP)

Hiddleston, it should be said, is not in “Life of Chuck” as much as one might expect for being the titular character. His presence looms large certainly — it’s why we’re here. But, in reality, Hiddleston as a performer is more of an ensemble player among a sea of recognizable faces.

In the third act, which opens the film, he’s everywhere — on billboards and television ads, cheerily smiling in a nondescript grey suit, coffee cup in one hand, pencil in another. “Charles Krantz. 39 great years! Thanks Chuck!” the signs read.

It’s the background until it’s all that’s left as the world appears to be ending. The internet has gone out. Parts of California have drifted into the Pacific. Environmental disasters rage. Suicides are skyrocketing. Hail Mary life decisions are being made. And poor Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is just trying to do his job as a school teacher. His parent-teacher conferences have become parent therapy sessions. Everyone — a maintenance guy (Matthew Lillard), a funeral director (Carl Lumbly) — seems to want to philosophize about what’s going on, and who the heck Chuck is. He has big conversations about the history of the universe with his ex-wife (Karen Gillan). And together they wait for the end.

In act two, a grown Chuck (Hiddleston) dances in the street in a joyful six-minute sequence. Compelled to move when he hears the beat of a street drummer (Taylor Gordon), he even pulls in a stranger to join him (Annalise Basso).

This image released by Neon shows Mia Sara, from left, Mark Hamill, and Cody Flanagan in a scene from “The Life of Chuck.” (Neon via AP)

In act one, he’s a kid ( Pajak ) who has lost both his parents and unborn sister in a car accident and is living with his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara, who it’s nice to have back on screen). It’s during this segment, which comprises nearly half the movie, that he learns to dance. First, it’s through his grandmother freestyling to Wang Chung and curating a movie musical marathon (including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Cabaret, “Cover Girl” and “All That Jazz”). Then it’s at school, where little Chuck learns the perks of being a straight man who can dance. There’s also a possibly haunted cupola on the top floor of their house that’s causing grandpa lots of anxiety.

This is a film with a big heart that has already made a significant impact on some moviegoers. Last fall it won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival, an honor which has produced many best picture nominees and winners.

And it’s one where a second viewing might be rewarding, so you can more appreciate the thoughtful throughlines and the piece as a whole since you know what it’s building toward.

But I also suspect this particular flavor of sentimentality might not be for everyone. This critic felt a bit like the film was trying to trick you into caring about Chuck, while revealing very little about the man he became and explaining too much about the mystery. And yet it’s a nice message, with nice performances and might be that kind of affirming hug of a film that someone is craving.

“Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself.”

Film reviews can also contain multitudes.

‘Life of Chuck’

A Neon release in select theaters on Friday, June 6; everywhere on Friday, June 13.

Rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language.

Running time: 110 minutes.

Two and a half stars out of four.

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BALTIMORE (AP) — Crews were working Thursday morning to contain and clean up a 2,000-gallon diesel fuel spill in Baltimore’s harbor, according to state and city officials.

Initially, Johns Hopkins Hospital reported a contained 200-gallon diesel fuel spill at its East Baltimore facility on Wednesday morning, but a few hours later the fire department responded to a 911 call for a spill at a marina in Harbor East more than a mile away, officials said. The state, city and U.S. Coast Guard began coordinating a response to the spill. In an update around 7 p.m., Hopkins reported that 2,000 gallons had spilled, officials said.

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More than 100 people worked through the night to make sure that the situation was under control and contained, Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott stressed that there’s no evidence to suggest that the spill was affecting drinking water in the area.

A boom was deployed on the water quickly and later crews began to skim the heating oil product off the water, Fire Chief James Wallace said. They’ve begun to flush the storm drain system to push the product to the harbor where they have skimmers to capture it, he said. That effort will continue through the majority of the day on Thursday. Officials explained that the water appears red due to dye in the fuel.

“Very speedy response, solid coordination, partnership with our state and federal resources have put us into the position right now,” Wallace said. “That’s what’s going to drive the remainder of the day and actually the coming days.”

Officials expect the containment and cleanup efforts will disrupt traffic well into the day Thursday, and they encouraged people to avoid the area.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court decided Thursday that a Catholic charity doesn’t have to pay Wisconsin unemployment taxes, one of a set of religious-rights cases the justices are considering this term.

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The unanimous ruling comes in a case filed by the Catholic Charities Bureau, which says the state violated the First Amendment’s religious freedom guarantee when it required the organization to pay the tax while exempting other faith groups.

Wisconsin argues the organization has paid the tax for over 50 years and doesn’t qualify for an exemption because its day-to-day work doesn’t involve religious teachings. Much of the groups’ funding is from public money, and neither employees nor people receiving services have to belong to any faith, according to court papers.

Catholic Charities, though, says it qualifies because its disability services are motivated by religious beliefs and the state shouldn’t be making determinations about what work qualifies as religious. It appealed to the Supreme Court after Wisconsin’s highest court ruled against it. President Donald Trump’s administration weighed in on behalf of Catholic Charites.

Wisconsin has said that a decision in favor of the charity could open the door to big employers like religiously affiliated hospitals pulling out of the state unemployment system as well.

The conservative-majority court has issued a string of decisions siding with churches and religious plaintiffs in recent years. This term, though, a plan to establish a publicly funded Catholic charter school lost after when the justices deadlocked after Amy Coney Barrett recused herself.

The nine-member court is also considering a case over religious objections to books read in public schools. In those arguments, the majority appeared sympathetic to the religious rights of parents in Maryland who want to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. alleging the companies’ business practices have fueled tremendous cartel violence and bloodshed.

The unanimous ruling tossed out the case under U.S. laws that largely shield gunmakers from liability when their firearms are used in crime.

Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson had appealed to the justices after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for situations in which the companies themselves are accused of violating the law.

But the justices found that Mexico hadn’t made a plausible argument that the companies had knowingly allowed guns to be trafficked into the country. “It does not pinpoint, as most aiding-and-abetting claims do, any specific criminal transactions that the defendants (allegedly) assisted,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court’s opinion.

Mexico had asked the justices to let the case play out, saying it was still in its early stages.

The case began in 2021, when the Mexican government filed a blockbuster suit against some of the biggest gun companies, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt and Glock.

Mexico has strict gun laws and has just one store where people can legally buy firearms. But thousands of guns are smuggled in by the country’s powerful drug cartels every year.

The Mexican government says at least 70% of those weapons come from the United States. The lawsuit claims that companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to cash in on that market.

The companies reject Mexico’s allegations, arguing the country’s lawsuit comes nowhere close to showing they’re responsible for a relatively few people using their products to commit violence.

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A federal judge tossed out the lawsuit under a 2005 law that protects gun companies from most civil lawsuits, but an appeals court revived it. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston found it fell under an exception to the shield law for situations in which firearm companies are accused of knowingly breaking laws in their business practices.

That exception has come up in other cases, including in lawsuits stemming from mass shootings.

Families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, for example, argued it applied to their lawsuit because the gunmaker had violated state law in the marketing of the AR-15 rifle used in the shooting, in which 20 first graders and six educators were killed.

The families eventually secured a landmark $73 million settlement with Remington, the maker of the rifle.