The Life of Chuck Review – A Heartfelt Meditation on Memory and Meaning
A film critic has a profound moment of reflection.
The Life of Chuck
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
Written by: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, Cody Flanagan
Release Date: June 12th, 2025
Published: June 6th, 2025
5 out of 5 Stars
Writer-director Mike Flanagan has reached directly into my soul and shown me a movie I’ve long dreamed of. Echoing one of the film’s central themes, The Life of Chuck feels like it has always existed somewhere in my imagination. Watching it was like watching my inner world unfold on screen—and it’s so, so beautiful.
The Life of Chuck tells its story through a kaleidoscope of moments across one man’s life, with Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, and Cody Flanagan each portraying Chuck at different ages. But more than a character study, this is a meditation on memory itself—how moments, big and small, sculpt us into who we are. Our joys and disappointments, our choices and accidents, our questions and the answers we never quite receive—all of it becomes part of the story we carry within.
A Fleeting Fantasy
Sometimes, it’s the little things: the fleeting fantasy about a beautiful couple we once passed on the street, a story that took root in the background of our minds. Other times, it’s a leap we didn’t expect to take—like asking someone to dance, hands shaking with nervous tension, only to be met with a smile and a yes that cracked the world open. These moments, seemingly ordinary, become the poetry of our lives.
I will never forget my first kiss on a quiet street in a small town, beneath a full moon, in front of a shuttered post office. That moment made me a romantic, a restless soul chasing wonder. I’ve lived many such moments since, and I will live more. So will you.
Life's Infinite, Fragile Beauty
That’s what The Life of Chuck inspired in me: the awareness of life’s infinite, fragile beauty. It reminded me that everything—pain and joy alike—matters. We are the imagination of ourselves. That’s a Bill Hicks quote, one that changed how I see the world. Hicks never knew I existed, but something he said became part of me. That’s how art works—it becomes memory, identity, connection.
Imagine saying something that changes someone’s life. Maybe you already have. Maybe you’re a parent, and every word you’ve ever spoken to your child has helped shape who they are. That’s overwhelming—but it’s also true. And it’s sacred.
A Miracle
The Life of Chuck is a miracle to me. It feels like a story I was destined to witness and carry. Mike Flanagan doesn’t know me, and I’ve never met him, but something he made now lives in my heart. Art does that. It settles into us and reshapes how we see the world. It flows through us, and we pass it on to others without even realizing it.
That’s magic.
And that’s life: a collection of moments that become memories that form a person.
I know this is supposed to be a movie review—and it is. I promise. This is what The Life of Chuck meant to me. It’s a memory I’ll carry, forever stitched into the fabric of who I am. Maybe most people who see it will just see a movie. But maybe—just maybe—a few of you will be changed forever, too.
And now I’m part of that memory. If you’re reading this, if you made it all the way to this sentence, then I’m part of you. And you’re part of me, too. I don’t know your face. I can’t hear your voice. But just believing you’re out there fills me with a joy I can’t begin to express.
#The Life of Chuck #Mike Flanagan #Tom Hiddleston #Movie Review 2025 #Emotional Movie Reviews #Film About Memory #Stephen King Adaptations #Indie Film 2025 #Cinematic Reflections #Movies That Make You Cry
About the Creator
Sean Patrick
Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.
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Comments (1)
Your review perfectly articulated everything I felt about this film. I thought that the novella was extraordinary, and Mike Flanagan's adaptation somehow *elevated* it. It was wonderful, in the literal sense, that I left the theater with a heart filled with wonder. I feel a connection to everyone that also experienced something while watching - whatever form that took, it spoke to all of us.