THE LIFE OF CHUCK is a 2025 fantasy film written and directed by Mike Flanagan and based on the novella by Stephen King of the same name. The film follows Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) and the extraordinary aspects of his life. The story of Chuck’s life is already a fascinating tale, but the script’s layout only enhances its magic. The nonlinear timeline is a fantastic plot device and has been used in some of my favorite pieces of media. An obvious example is MEMENTO, but a more niche example is MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, a completely underrated Sondheim piece (one of his all-time best works, if I might add).
I first saw a trailer for THE LIFE OF CHUCK about a month ago and didn’t experience a strong interest in seeing the film. I went to see it on a random Monday afternoon as a double feature with ELIO, simply because I didn’t have anything else to do. Not immediately rushing to the theater when it premiered was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made, but I can’t even say that because THE LIFE OF CHUCK taught me there are no mistakes and the cosmic calendar holds no time for regret.
THE LIFE OF CHUCK was one of the most meaningful and life-altering films I’ve seen. I walked out of that theater with a completely different viewpoint on how I wanted to utilize however much time I had left in my life. I started thinking about all the people I’ve met in my 17 years of living, from my mother and father and my best friend and my teachers, and crushes, and my fellow actors all the way to someone I passed by on the street when I was 4, or a random senior I saw in the hallway when I was in sixth grade. My world is so small in comparison to all the land on the Earth, all the places I’ve never been and will maybe never see. All the places I’ve forgotten and all the places I will visit in the future. However, in my mind, my world is not minute. It is beautiful and special and holds some of my favorite places. I’ve never left the country, but I have spent many days at Arrowhead Mall with my mom. I’ve never seen the Eiffel Tower, but I’ve memorized the view of my school atrium when it’s raining. I haven’t gone to New York City or Los Angeles, but I’ve spent hundreds of hours feeling the magic of film in the Harkins at Norterra, similar to the experience I had there today while watching THE LIFE OF CHUCK. Just like the film says, I contain multitudes. The film made me want to live without fear, taking every step as if it were the last one I’d take. I want to compliment strangers and dance in public. The film showcased the hidden magic that lies in all of us, even a seemingly ordinary man like Chuck.
As I mentioned previously, the film follows a nonlinear timeline. Act Three was one of the scariest, yet very topical plot lines I’ve experienced in recent theater. I could have spent the entire movie just experiencing that situation, the horror and fear mixed with the finality of it all. Act Three is a masterpiece in its own right in every aspect. The story was riveting and immediately captivated me from the first line, holding me in intrigue until the cut to black. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Marty deserves much more discussion, and a hopeful part of me thinks he deserves at least some discussion in the 2026 award season. This is undoubtedly the act that features the most characters, and you will see many stars grace your screen for approximately 30 seconds. Matthew Lillard and David Dastmalchian deliver some of the most emotionally charged acting performances, accompanied by incredibly powerful speeches. The dialogue was both touching and poignant, making it very applicable to our current times. It’s funny, thoughtful, and reflective on the impact we hold to the meaning of life. The cinematography is out of this world, easily some of the best I’ve seen this year, coming in right after SINNERS. Similar to something like BLACK MIRROR, they alter the real world just in the slightest to make it feel “off,” but also says so much about the current state of everything that it forces you to realize this might not be as dystopian as we would like to believe. Act Three could be a standalone short film in its own right, complete with a beginning, middle, and end, and not requiring any support from the other two acts.
Moving onto Act Two, an enjoyable time, but undeniably the weakest of all three acts. That’s not to say it’s bad, but Act Three and One have a high bar to reach, and in my opinion, it does not exactly reach that level. There is not much dialogue; instead, it utilizes dance and movement to convey the unspoken words. This is the most fun act, but it doesn’t add the most commentary to the overall story. The choreography is rousing and made me upset that there is no award for that at the Oscars. The cinematography is exhilarating and lively, matching the theme of the act. Tom Hiddleston is perfection in the role, and his presence in his time on screen makes you forget he’s not even in the film that much. The music is a prevalent aspect throughout the entire movie, but it stands out particularly in this scene. The act is concise and impactful, adding an unspoken level of charisma to the film’s overall journey.
Then we reach Act One. Just like the opening, there is a start-to-finish line we can follow with a plot diagram. The casting for this film is brilliant, and, similarly to the new HUNGER GAMES film, makes me wonder what the budget was. However, this act, along with the casting of Mark Hamill, Jacob Tremblay, and Benjamin Pajak, really made me realize we had something good here. Pajak delivers a premiere performance as pre-teen Chuck; this is his act, just as Act Two belongs to Hiddleston and Act Three to Ejiofor. This act shares many similarities with Act Three, but now that the audience has experienced it an hour later, we view it from a completely different perspective. We have the full movie now to support these big mathematical and theoretical ideas, something that seemed so vague in Act Three. A recurring thought that kept coming to me in this act was the aesthetic and tonal similarities between this and THE HOLDOVERS, one of the most transformative movies I’ve ever gotten the pleasure to see in theaters. I’m someone who loves math; I think it’s one of the subjects in which I excel at school. I am also someone who loves theater and performing more than anything, and as I am currently going through the college application process, I have fully understood the overarching debates between academic and financial stability versus passion in performance. This act was so raw and moving, with so much passion behind every decision. I loved the story, the choreography, and the overall message presented. Act One represented the movie as a whole, the best, both in genre and tone. This was another example of a story that could be translated into a short film.
THE LIFE OF CHUCK was the hidden gem of 2025. It has changed my perspective on the time left, not only for myself, but also for my loved ones and the universe as a whole. It is a deep thinker, but one that is not pretentious, so it excludes those who do not want to dig deeper with their casual viewing. I would highly recommend going out to experience it while it’s still in theaters, or viewing it at home when it releases on streaming.
Charles Krantz- 39 GREAT YEARS! Thanks Chuck!
THE LIFE OF CHUCK is playing in theaters.
