From the reviews and various online comments, one may see that people are somewhat divided about the movie The Life of Chuck (2025), based on a 2020 novella by Stephen King. Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mark Hamill, and Mia Sara star in the movie, which was written and directed by Mike Flanagan. The film also includes narration by Nick Offerman.
The film is marketed as a feel-good movie in the vein of the heartfelt films based upon King’s other works like Stand By Me (1986) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Few movies can reach those heights, of course, and it is better to think of The Life of Chuck as something of its own.
The Life of Chuck is one of those movies better seen without knowing too much about it. So, below I provide a short review for those who have not seen it, followed by some thoughts for those who have seen the movie.
For Those Deciding Whether to Watch The Life of Chuck
So, should you watch The Life of Chuck? While I did not find the entirety of the film a great movie, I did appreciate its ambition in presenting the story of an ordinary man in an extraordinary way. If you are looking for something a little different with a little bit of heart, you should watch it without reading too much more about it. All you need to know is that it is a movie looking at someone’s life and doing it in a somewhat unusual (and non-chronological) way.
If you do not like movies with sentiment, then you might instead go watch an action movie. But it also may depend on your mood. Those in a certain mood or stage of life — perhaps feeling frustrated with the world — may like many others find the movie a wonderful respite with scenes that will stay with them.
There are movies that are middle-of-the road popcorn films that are entertaining to many people. But those movies do not stay with you. The Life of Chuck might be one of those movies that stays with you. So if you are willing to take a little gamble with two hours of your life in the hopes that it might pay off , go for it.
For Those Who Have Seen The Life of Chuck
The following discussion contains some spoilers if you have not seen the movie.
Act III, the first segment of the film, was truly wonderful. But that is a problem, as the rest of the movie could not live up to that section.
Act III captured the end-of-the world feeling many of us has felt since the pandemic, as presented in other movies like Don’t Look Up (2021), Leave the World Behind (2023), and Knock at the Cabin (2023). Those movies, like Act III in The Life of Chuck, wonderfully portray how many of us feel with a world turned upside down during much of the last decade. Another plus in Act III was that Chiwetel Ejiofor, always a great actor, created a character that interested me more than any of the iterations of Chuck.
And then when the movie went into Act II and introduced us to Chuck with the dance scene, it is a bit of a shock. And even though the brief section where we see the adult Chuck played by Tim Hiddleston also presents an interesting character and a nice dance sequence, we again do not seem to get to stay with the interesting character long enough before going to the next act.
One of the joys of watching the movie is finally figuring out on your own what Act III was about. As others have explained, that first part of the movie shows inside Chuck’s head as he is dying. And the movie has beautiful moments, including the dances and the connection throughout the movie of Walt Whitman’s line “I contain multitudes” from Song of Myself.
The storyline about the locked attic in Act I almost seemed like a throwaway attempt to add a Stephen King supernatural element. But the film does a good job tying together that storyline with the rest of the movie. As we have discussed elsewhere and as explained in books such as Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death, when one lives with an awareness of their mortality, they may live with a special purpose. And we see a glimpse of that where 17-year-old Chuck looks at his future and vows to live his life because he contains multitudes. And then the movie ends, somewhat abruptly.
In conclusion, the movie suffers because the most interesting section was the first section, so the rest of the movie never matches that section. The opening is well-paced, letting us get into the story, but by the time we get to Act II and then Act I, those sections feel rushed, as if they are focused on explaining things rather than developing character or telling a story. Maybe the movie would work better in some ways if it in chronological order, starting with the young Chuck? But then the movie would not have the story (or gimmick?) that lets us make connections on our own.
All of that said, I love ambitious movies, and I was glad I watched Life of Chuck. Yes, the heartfelt story was not as life-changing as some recent movies like About Time (2013), a movie that more successfully questioned how we live our lives. But I did find enough in The Life of Chuck that I felt compelled to rewatch the movie again the next day.
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