‘The Life of Chuck' Review
THE LIFE OF CHUCK IS SIMULTANEOUSLY EFFECTIVE—it jerks those tears—and almost terrifyingly ineffective, a movie that feints at a sort of transcendent human depth but has a nullity at its center that undercuts the entire premise upon closer examination.
To understand why, you'll need to know the broad strokes of the plot, including the first act twist; I think everything discussed here will be painfully obvious to any viewer about ten minutes into the movie, but still, caveat emptor. We open on 'Act Three: Thanks, Chuck,' witnesses to a world on the precipice of collapse. Marty Anderson's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) America is much like ours, if ours had everything go wrong at once. California has collapsed into the ocean; wildfires rage through the Midwest; the rest of the world is starving; and, worst of all, as the film begins the internet has collapsed. The one constant? Advertisements—on billboards, radio stations, and network-TV test patterns—thanking Chuck Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) for '39 great years.'
Retirement ads? At a time like this? Why, he looks like he's 39 himself, not a 39-year veteran of the bank—or maybe accountancy or life insurance firm; no one actually seems to know the guy—where he works. Why are these ads everywhere? And is that a tear in his eye? Hm, something feels strange about this. It's almost as if, yes, obviously, Chuck is dying, and this is all in his mind. Indeed, he dies, and we travel backwards through time from there: The second act focuses on a near-miraculous day in the life of Chuck, in which he, a distraught passerby, and a drumming busker engage in a crowd-pleasing dancing exhibition; the first on his childhood with his doting grandparents in their darling Victorian home, one with a terrifying mystery in the attic cupola.
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As I said, The Life of Chuck is effective in that it acknowledges early death is intrinsically unfair, and writer-director Mike Flanagan, adapting a Stephen King short story, understands how to milk this for all its worth. We see Chuck full of life, dancing up a storm on a random street corner, the audience cheering along. It's a great set piece: well-staged, perfectly edited. I'm a sucker for a good drum solo, and while I'm not one for dancing, I still appreciate seeing rhythm on the screen. We also see Chuck near death, his child and his wife weeping over him, damning the unfairness of it all. We see Chuck as a child, full of hope for the future. We know how that turns out. Mistiness, achieved.
However, rather than serving as a 'life-affirming masterpiece,' as the advertising for The Life of Chuck has promised, the whole charade feels weirdly empty, bereft of greater meaning. And that's because the universe that Chuck has created in his mind—the one where we meet Marty and his ex-wife, who reconcile at their end—has no resonance through the rest of the film, no real connection to his life or what he accomplished or who he loved. A hippy-dippy teacher in Chuck's elementary school informs him that Walt Whitman's 'I am large, I contain multitudes' refers not to the inherent contradictions of life—the different roles we play, the hypocrisies we reconcile internally—but to an actual universe created by the randomly firing neurons in our brain, an entire cosmos of imagined existences that blink out of existence when we breathe our last. The invocation of Whitman—and, later, Carl Sagan's famous cosmic calendar, the one that informs us all of human existence takes place a few ticks before midnight in a universe condensed to a year—suggests an effort to create a sort of secular cosmology, a sense of a universe greater than the self.
But the effect is precisely the opposite. It'd be one thing if Chuck's life of the mind represented important moments and people in his actual life, if we learned that the characters we were following were key figures in Chuck's own world, if we discovered that he helped them find something deeper, something more meaningful, if he saved their lives or redirected the stream of their existence. But we . . . don't. They're just kind of random, stray thoughts. A couple of teachers, a funeral director, a little girl he saw skating on a promenade one time. And when he dies, they disappear into nothingness.
This simply does not work as a metaphor for a life well lived or a person who matters to the community; it is fundamentally solipsistic, an expression of a nearly unimaginable form of self-centeredness, almost a hope that the world ends when we die, that people cannot go on without us.
So yes, The Life of Chuck works, kinda, if what we mean by 'work' is 'it'll make you tear up.' But it's a work of nearly distressing emptiness.
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tom Hiddleston's new film The Life of Chuck taught him to cherish 'the people who matter'
The actor and his co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor tell Yahoo UK about the Stephen King adaptation and the lessons they took from the 'life-affirming' film. The Life of Chuck will inspire you in ways few other Stephen King adaptations have in the past, just like it did for Tom Hiddleston and Chiwetel Ejiofor, they tell Yahoo UK. Directed by Mike Flanagan, the movie centres on an ordinary man named Charles Krantz (Hiddleston) and three chapters in his life. Told out of order, the genre-bending narrative explores what it means to live and also what it means to die, but not in the way you might expect from a story by King. For some, The Life of Chuck will be the first time they encounter King's work, teaching them the meaning of life and the importance of holding those close to you. It was these life lessons that Hiddleston and Ejiofor took from it themselves, as the former shares: "I found it very moving when I read it and I think Mike has made a really beautiful film, and it speaks to me in the sense that it's about the courage and the connection we need to the people we love. "When it feels as though the world is falling apart hold on to the people you love, to the people who matter, cherish your time together and share the joy, and the film seems to be acknowledging that life can be very hard at times and that we all encounter loss and grief, and struggle, and pain, and those things are real and inevitable and part of the experience of being alive. But alongside that, there are profound experiences of joy that actually become the stitching that makes life worth living. "And when you roll up those moments, it becomes the sort of fabric that you can wear when times get hard. Joy is a transformative energy, actually, it's not a passive experience. It's something you're communicating and you're giving to other people, and it can catch, and it kind of keeps us together. So it's a very life-affirming film in that way." The Life of Chuck as an entry into Stephen King Stephen King is the master of horror, and many other genres besides, but while the author has had a near 50-year career, there are those who will discover him for the first time through The Life of Chuck. It's something the cast take great pride in. "I was just thinking how fascinating an entry point this film would be for somebody, for a young person who's not really been exposed to Stephen King," Ejiofor, who plays teacher Marty, reflects. "It has so many different aspects of the King universe. I think the structure is such an interesting mystery, and it's so it's entertaining, but it's philosophical, and just very rich in terms of how it deals with life in all of its forms — in the joys of life and the tragedies of life. "So it's challenging in that way, emotionally challenging, and I think for somebody coming into this, you'd really understand why Stephen King is such a phenomenon in his own way. So it would be an amazing place to start." "I think it's a really good entry point for people if they don't know Stephen King," Hiddleston concurs. "The narrative structure is really ingenious, and I think the work of someone who is immensely skilled and practised at his art, but it's also got a point of view that I think is uniquely his as well. "He is not afraid to explore some of the aspects of life that are disquieting and unsettling, but as he's exploring that, he lands resolutely on the side of life, on love, on warmth, on joy, on reasons for living. I think all of his work has a strain of that, even the horror." The actors have their own entry points into the King universe, for Hiddleston, it was The Shawshank Redemption, while for Ejiofor, it was The Shining and Stand By Me, all of which have their own unique lessons to take away from it. Hiddleston says: "The Life of Chuck shares with The Shawshank Redemption this consideration, perhaps, the opposite of life inspires a life energy. Get busy living or get busy dying. And there's really no choice, Stephen King in that presentation is saying there is no choice — life is the thing." Getting a Gene Kelly moment One thing that The Life of Chuck gave the Marvel star was the opportunity to dance, something he has come to feel he only has a finite amount of time left to do in his career. "As I read the sequence in the story, and I don't wanna sound overly sentimental about it, but I thought 'I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this'," he explains. "I'm 44 now, and maybe in ten, 20 years' time I just won't have the same energy or the same mobility. This was a really unique opportunity to try something in this dance sequence that maybe I would never get another chance to try, and it was my tribute, in a way, to all the dancers I've always loved." As Chuck, Hiddleston performs an array of dance styles that bring to mind the classic movie musicals of the Golden Age of Hollywood, from Jazz to Salsa, Cha Cha to Charleston. Sharing insight into performers he aspired to be like, he says: "I remember really specifically discovering some of the great old musicals of the Golden Age of Hollywood, like Swing Time with Fred and Ginger, and then You'll Never get Rich with Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth, and Cover Girl, which I spoke about with Mike Flanagan, which is Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth. "And then, of course, Singin' in the Rain, which is an eternal piece of footage, I think. You could show that to a three-year-old or a 93-year-old and they would smile and understand it." It took the actor over a month to nail down the choreography he had to bring out for the all-important dance sequence in the film. He worked with choreographers Mandy Moore and Stephanie Powell, with the actor sharing: "Stephanie worked with me in London and helped me prepare in these extraordinary styles. Jazz, Swing, Salsa, Samba, Cha Cha, Charleston, bossa nova, polka. "And then they both did a very smart thing. Just before we did it, they said, 'Remember that this dance is yours, and even though it belongs to Chuck, it belongs to you too. So if ever there's something you feel like doing, just do it. Feel it, be free.' And there's a bit of that in there too." Life lessons from The Life of Chuck The movie helped Ejiofor, too, especially because his character's story centres on him finding a connection with people he hasn't seen in years at the end of the world. It is a profound message to leave audiences with, he says: "I think that narratively there was something really exciting for me about the way the story was structured and the idea that life is a kind of mystery and you don't know entirely who is in your subconscious thoughts. "There are obviously the people who are very close to us and family and close friends, and all of those people who we kind of consciously think of in our lives — we think of those people and the people who have had a major influence. But there'd be all sorts of [other] people as well, some of them we don't think are very often, and maybe we don't think of at all, now that maybe we haven't thought of for years, but who were instrumental in the way that we are. "They might have been so influential in us, and they're still there in our memory, and maybe at some point they'll pop back into our thoughts, you know? It made me think about that, it made me made me want to do a deep dive into my own universe." Hiddleston felt similarly moved as he reflected on Ejiofor's remarks, adding to his costar: "You often talk about the bit that you're performing in the film as likening it to the pandemic, and that experience that we all had of uncertainty and being destabilised by it. "And I found that I thought of people in that time that I hadn't thought of in years. I was like, 'Why am I thinking of this old friend from university?' There were people like that who would just throw themselves forward to the front of my consciousness; it was really interesting that that's what happened." When the credits roll and Chuck's story is told, perhaps it will leave audiences with the same feeling of reflection as it did for Hiddleston and Ejiofor. It certainly did for me, in fact, I thought about the movie and its message about living life to the fullest all the way home and long into the night — that's the power of Stephen King. The Life of Chuck premieres in UK cinemas on Wednesday, 20 August.
Elle
12 hours ago
- Elle
6 Dress And Boot Combinations To Extend That Summer Feeling Into Autumn
Now that temperatures have dropped a little, I keep gazing wistfully at my autumn boots. Then again, I'm not quite ready to part from my beloved summer dresses. The good news is, you can have everything – well not everything, but, you know – since the simple formula of boots and a summer dress solves most between-season styling dilemmas, making the transition into autumn more effortless. If you thought your halterneck mini was nothing without a pair of ballet flats, think again. Its Y2K-leaning sensibility makes it the perfect match for the slouchy boots that made an appearance on the AW25 runways, at Isabel Marant, Khaite and Louis Vuitton. Hold on to your satin slip dress, too – it makes an excellent layering piece when teamed with biker boots and a slouchy knit (and jeans, on extra chilly days). It's certainly not the cowboy boot's first rodeo, as it stomps defiantly onwards into another season thanks to Altuzarra and Isabel Marant, who has long loved Western-inspired styling. Later, wear yours beneath sharply tailored trousers (as at Calvin Klein); now, slip 'em on with a white cotton sundress for late summer festivals and hoedowns. Whether you prefer an equestrian or Victoriana vibe, there is a new-season boot for you. Invest in your perfect pair and wear it right away, combining riding boots with a denim dress or lace-up styles with wafty, boho midis and maxis. Without further ado, here are six tried-and-tested dress and boot pairings for a chicer almost-autumn. You've spent all of summer wafting around town in a Chloé-esque maxi and there's no need to let autumn stop you – simply swap out your ballet flats or jelly shoes for a pair of lace-up boots, either Victorian-inspired (as seen at Bora Aksu's AW25 show) or biker-style, seen at Dior. For chillier, late-summer days, hedge your bets in a long-sleeved, A-line mini dress (in denim, depending on the temperature) and riding boots. ELLE UK's Site Fashion Editor Daisy Murray wears the combo especially well. Crisp cotton sundresses served you well all summer – continue the party into autumn by eschewing sandals for cowboy boots. Judging by Altuzarra and Calvin Klein's AW25 shows, they're not going anywhere. Last seen sometime in the early aughts, the slouchy boot was well overdue a second wind. Well, it's back with a vengeance, thanks to Khaite, Zimmermann and Isabel Marant, whose Edrik boots are perfectly in-keeping with the Y2K look of a halterneck mini dress. Reward the satin slip dress's unerring loyalty in a heatwave by styling it throughout September and into October, with knitwear and buckled boots – the chunkier, the better. Brown boots ruled the runways at Khaite, Alberta Ferretti and Fendi (amongst others) and will be a key part of your winter wardrobe. For now, we love how they look with a flippy, drop-waist dress, like this ruffled Gimaguas number.
Newsweek
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Homeowners Shocked by Discovery in 125-Year-Old House: 'Time Capsule'
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A caption shared with the video reads: "It's almost been a whole year since I bought my cheap old Turn of the Century Victorian House. I gotta say, it's definitely not cheap anymore! …" The clip has had over 2.2 million views since it was shared on July 18. @nikkalcaraz It's almost been a whole year since I bought my cheap old Turn of the Century Victorian House. I gotta say, it's definitely not cheap anymore! 😂 Though I pictured we'd get a lot more done in a year, we've quickly learned that this is gonna take a lot of time. For instance, we've been working on one bathroom for 7 months! 😱 yes! Bathing in an old enamel basin has become my norm. And though it's not ideal, there is something special about slowing down and taking my time to clean myself. 🤣 Same goes for the house. The more time and care I take, the better the outcome will be. Can't wait to share the next loads of videos with you. For now, here's a recap of all the cool stuff we've been finding along the way. #cheapoldhouse #victorianhouse #turnofthecentury #historicalhomes #nikkalcaraz #hiddentreasures ♬ original sound - Practical Peculiarities Built in 1900, the home is featured prominently on Alcaraz's social media, including on his Instagram account @practicalpeculiarities, where he shares about its eerie charm. The median spending on home renovations in the United States was reported to have surged by 60 percent in recent years, rising from $15,000 to $24,000 between 2020 and 2023; this is according to a 2024 survey by Houzz, a home design website. Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alcaraz lived in Los Angeles for all of his 20s before moving to Pennsylvania. Alcaraz said that he and his partner bought the Victorian home after submitting a low offer. "We only saw the listing photos and [had] a low-quality walk through of the property before purchasing," he said. 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"When we were taking down the drop ceiling in the downstairs hallway, we discovered a small piece of paper sticking out from beneath the upstairs newel post," Alcaraz said. "To our surprise, it was an old Ivory soap wrapper. We continued to look up through the post from below and discovered it was stuffed with things." Inside, the pair found brittle papers, candy wrappers, children's drawings, a friendship bracelet, and a torn storybook page. "It was a literal time capsule. One of the papers was dated 1925, so I knew it was put there by the three kids that used to live here. Through my research, [I learned that] their names were Lucy, Maggie and Eleanor Edel," Alcaraz said. In addition to the capsule, Alcaraz and his partner have uncovered wedding photos, a 1950s Valentine's Day card, newspapers from the 1940s and 50s, a photo of Maggie hidden behind the fireplace, antique garden tools, seven layers of wallpaper from different decades, and an original mason jar from the 1800s. The pair have also found many functioning skeleton keys, milk bottles and caps from 1902 to 1940, and a large meat cleaver hanging in the basement ceiling rafters. "We plan on incorporating all the finds into the decor of the home to honor all the families that once resided here," Alcaraz said. The renovation is extensive. "Every room needs to be renovated, some more than others," Alcaraz said. While certain rooms just need wallpaper and plaster repairs, the home still has knob and tube wiring and old gas light lines that must be brought up to code. Plumbing-heavy rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom have been the most challenging. "We already completed the biggest, which was rebuilding the entire second floor," Alcaraz said. "The floor was slowly falling in one corner. This was the most-stressful project because we had never done anything like this before." He added that the couple are learning through YouTube videos, books, and advice from preservationists. "Most contractors in the area don't specialize in old houses, so I don't trust their fixes," he said. Despite the challenges, Alcaraz has a clear vision. "I envision this home to be the right mix of peculiar and historical; almost as if a whimsical witch lives in an old manor," he said. "Think like the houses in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina or Practical Magic with my unique, peculiar twist. "Every day, we peel back more layers and discover the original beauty of the house," Alcaraz added. "It feels as if the house is breathing in relief and gives back to us more gifts. I do believe it has its own soul, and sometimes, I whisper to the walls, 'Thank you! You're beautiful,' or 'You're in good hands.'" A close-up view of some interior features in a 125-year-old Victorian home in Pennsylvania, including a staircase post (left) and a keyhole (right). A close-up view of some interior features in a 125-year-old Victorian home in Pennsylvania, including a staircase post (left) and a keyhole (right). Weston St. James Do you have a home renovation-related story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
