The Life of Chuck

Life of Chuck really assembled an interesting and wonderful team of creatives, to the point where I really don’t care what the movie is actually about. Mike Flanagan, Tom Hiddleston, Stephen King, Matthew Lillard, Karen Gillis, seriously this list is incredible. We even have Offerman doing a voiceover. So just based off of the list of people involved I knew I wanted to see this movie.

We are seeing people deal with a lack of internet and I love how dystopian it feels. Like losing the internet is a sign of us losing our humanity. This is accompanied by worldwide natural disasters.

All of the states that produce food are having so many natural disasters the means of food production are gone. I also love that no one in this town has any idea who Chuck is or why we are thanking him.

I know I just saw him at LACC but it's worth noting that Matthew Lillard looks so good. That man is timelessly handsome, and a genuinely kind, sweet, wonderful human being.

I love a little not so subtle commentary on how we are killing ourselves as we kill the planet. If we don’t do something about the environment we WILL die. It does in fact directly affect us.

So much graffiti expressing love for Chuck. And now all of the heart monitors in the hospital are tracking a pulse and a heart rate that doesn’t exist. All these beds are empty.

No one’s phones are working, all the networks are down. The world is very quickly falling apart.

I love the cinematography in this film. The impact of the end of the world is felt with every wide shot that only houses one person. The desolation is made so clear even when the camera is pulled in tighter.

The shot with him and the little girl as the power goes out was so creepy. Like I was getting punched in the gut. What in the twilight zone is this? Holy shit that is so weird. It’s like the images of Chuck are ghosts occupying these houses.

Everyone firmly believes that the world is ending, and it genuinely looks like that is the case. The Chuck we’ve all been hearing so much about is hooked up to machines in a hospital bed. Like his decline is causing the Earth’s decline. Yeah it really seems that Chuck is what is keeping the universe alive. Interesting.

This story is being told backwards and I LOVE it. That is such a great way to tel a non-linear story without jumping through time a bunch.

And we finally get some information on Chuck, he is an accountant. An accountant who dances in public to a street drummer. This movie is so weird I love it. This is exactly the vibe I expected from a Stephen King and Mike Flanagan team up.

We learned how to Cha Cha for this. I love it. Cha Cha turned very musical theatery, turned into a little swing. I love this so much.

And we have reached Act 1, the last chapter in this film…at least that’s what I’m guessing. Oh I forgot that Mark Hammill is in this. I love him too, also a sweet, wonderful human.

Aw his grandma taught him how to dance…that’s so cute. Me and my ballroom husband will be teaching our kids how to dance. The old musicals too, I love it. Oh the musical that was playing in act 1. Damn the circular writing in this movie is done SO well. Things we saw or heard at the beginning of the film at the end is always a good writing technique. Even better in this film though because it's told backwards. So we are repeating things at the end, but it's really the beginning. Fucking incredible.

Mike Flanagan and his inability to not cast his wife is the funniest thing in the world. She is in everything he does and it's the sweetest thing on the planet. Ah it's what his teacher told him. Act 1 was happening inside his head. God this might have the best writing of any film this year.

Okay I know they didn’t care about dancing “properly” obviously but if you are going to have entire sequences about dancing you might want to make sure things are being done correctly. All this is to say two of these kids are in frame and their fingers are interlocked and it's gonna drive me insane.

This is the cutest little boy. That was adorable. I am very in love with this movie. What an incredible way to deliver this message. Just because there is an end doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do the things we love. Just because we are going to die, some sooner than others doesn’t mean we shouldn’t live the lives we want. I think that might be the most emotionally impactful film from 2025. It’s right on Hamnet’s heels. 10/10.