The Life of Chuck

A Three-Act Existential Breakdown Featuring Tap Dancing, Ghosts, and Mortgage Payments

This is a movie based on a story by Stephen King, which means it probably includes at least one of the following:

A haunted object A child who sees things Someone slowly losing their mind in a Denny’s

But this one’s… different. It’s called The Life of Chuck, and from what I haven’t seen, it’s about a guy named Chuck who either dies at the beginning, middle, or end—or possibly all three—and the movie decides to tell his story backwards, because why not mess with the audience’s emotional chronology and their sense of linear time?

The film is divided into three acts, which are like puzzle pieces from three different boxes:

Chuck’s quiet death in a hospital Chuck’s strange middle-aged career detour into interpretive dance and spiritual crises Chuck’s childhood, where he discovers his attic contains both his future and a raccoon named Greg who knows too much

There’s also an apocalyptic subplot, but it’s unclear whether it’s happening to the world or just Chuck’s cholesterol. At some point, a billboard with Chuck’s face appears in the sky, possibly to remind people to floss or question the meaning of consciousness.

Expect:

A monologue about regret delivered during an earthquake A scene where someone tap dances while a star collapses Chuck standing alone in a grocery store, whispering “this feels off” A metaphor so heavy it breaks a floorboard

This movie stars Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, and possibly your own emotional baggage. It’s described as “heartwarming” by people who cried during a soft pretzel commercial once.

I give it 4 out of 5 metaphorical billboards, with bonus points if Chuck actually turns out to be a cosmic database administrator with a passion for jazz and slow disintegration.