Commenting on his novella The Life of Chuck, published in 2020 in the collection If It Bleeds, Stephen King said, "What I can say is that I've always felt that each one of us — from the kings and princes of the realm, to the guys who wash dishes at Waffle House, and the gals who change beds in turnpike motels — contains the whole world." In other words, each person, whether rich or poor, important or lowly, carries experiences, feelings, and thoughts that the rest of the world will only ever know a fraction of.
King’s statement is a secular humanist reflection of the concept of imago dei, the image of God carried in every one of us. It’s a sentiment that comforts Mike Flanagan, the writer and director behind the new film adaptation of The Life of Chuck. At a recent press conference promoting the film, Flanagan said, “That idea of the universe inside of each of us, the universe we build as we make our way through life, it's such a beautiful concept.”
The universe within
The Life of Chuck reflects that concept throughout as it tells the story of everyday guy Charles Krantz (played at various times in his life by Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, and Tom Hiddleston). The story moves backward, starting with Chuck’s death from a brain tumor at age 39. It ends with an account of Chuck’s childhood, living with his grandparents in an old Victorian house with a mysterious, possibly haunted cupola that Chuck is forbidden to enter.
Chuck’s life is mostly unremarkable, though it’s filled with small moments of wonder, joy, and connection. As Chuck himself says during a childhood moment of clarity, “I am wonderful, and I deserve to be wonderful, and I contain multitudes.” That assertion combines language from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself (“I contain multitudes,” a phrase repeated throughout the film) and Psalm 139, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” both life-affirming statements that take joy in the expansive, sacred complexity of each person.
Kate Siegel, one of the stars of The Life of Chuck, says that idea has changed the way she walks through the world since working on the project. “It’s very human to feel simultaneously like you don’t matter at all and like you’re the most important person in the universe,” Siegel told Sojourners. “There’s a wonder now for me, because I feel like I’m passing universe after universe after universe when I walk down the street.”
It’s Siegel’s character Miss Richards, an English teacher, who first introduces young Chuck to Whitman’s poem, and urges him to find what he’s passionate about and not yet limit himself to any one pursuit. Her encouragement, in turn, leads Chuck to join an after-school “twirlers and spinners” club, where he discovers an innate talent for dance.
Just as Miss Richards’ gentle encouragement is a small act that has an unexpectedly profound impact on her student, Chuck’s love of dance later leads him to a spontaneous act as an adult that also has unexpected effects on the other people involved. As he’s walking along a sunny downtown street to a work conference, Hiddleston’s Chuck is transfixed by a busker playing a drum kit and starts to dance along, which draws a crowd. Chuck invites a young woman, Janice (Annalise Basso), to join him. Their sharp, fun, infectious movement brings joy to everyone around them — and helps Janice get over her anger at an unexpected breakup.
That sudden outburst of spontaneous delight isn’t what you’d expect from a guy in a grey suit carrying a briefcase, and yet there it is.
“Inside the soul of this accountant who loves his job and loves his wife and loves his son, is this dancer,” Hiddleston said during a press conference. “And that might be true of anyone you know or anyone you see on the street … Inside that human being is greater breadth and depth and range than we could possibly imagine.”
We each contain multitudes, and we are each fearfully and wonderfully made. Siegel says that perhaps being reminded of each other’s depths and complexities can help us be more compassionate toward the people we interact with, whether it’s the person ahead of us in the grocery store line, or a vulnerable neighbor in need.
“Hopefully we can take that into this world where the loudest voice wins,” Siegel says. “Two degrees more compassion, knowing that everyone you speak to, it’s a brief moment in a wide and deep life.”
When a universe dies
Recognizing the imago dei in each of us is just one of The Life of Chuck’s themes. Another is the inevitable truth that eventually, everything ends. What do we do with our lives in the knowledge that we’re all going to die?
As a child, Chuck encounters more than his fair share of grief. His parents die in a car accident, leaving him in the care of his grandparents, Albie (Mark Hamill) and Sarah (Mia Sara). Eventually, Chuck loses Sarah, and then Albie. We the audience already know that Chuck will die tragically young — the film’s narrator (Nick Offerman) reminds us constantly how much time Chuck has left, though Chuck doesn’t know it himself.
If we and the people we care about can die at any time (we know not the day nor the hour, after all) the question becomes: What do we do with the time that we have?
As Christians, we know that our faith promises us joy and peace in the kingdom of God, which allows us to live fully, generously, and joyfully in the face of the knowledge of our death. Flanagan’s answer is similar: Be kind and be engaged. Know that we’re all going to experience loss and dive in headfirst anyway.
Much like The Monkey, another King adaptation from this year about the inevitability of death and how we react to our knowledge of it, The Life of Chuck reminds us that we can have joy in the face of death, through our experiences and the love we share. It’s there in Chuck and Sarah dancing together in the kitchen, continuing to love despite their grief over the loss of Chuck’s parents. Later on, after Sarah’s death, it’s there in Albie, an accountant, sharing his passionate love of math with Chuck despite his own grief.
“What Mike's screenplay and what Stephen King's story describes so beautifully is the magic of those small moments in our lives, which will become the brightest stars in our memories in the last hours of our lives,” Hiddleston said during the panel conversation. “Our lives are magic. Yes, our lives are full of struggle and suffering and grief and pain and loss, that's true as well. But they’re also magic. And there’s so much joy there.”
Flanagan said these kinds of deep conversations were baked into the process of making The Life of Chuck, which he made alongside many friends and regular collaborators. It resulted in a film he said he’s happy to leave as his legacy.
“We all had very, very meaningful conversations about what it means to be a human being in this world and what it means for that world to end,” he said. “I felt like I was lucky to make something with people who were there for the right reason. We were making something that we hoped would outlive us, and I hope it does.”
Abby Olcese is a freelance film critic and writer based in Missouri. You can find her on Twitter @abbyolcese.
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!
