The Life of Chuck ending explained: A vision of death caused Chuck to live a life

After you have watched The Life of Chuck, chances are that either you will be brimming with emotions or questions. Or maybe a mix of both. It has three acts, which makes it the second movie this year to do so. Predator: Killer of Killers also does that on some level, although those acts are more like stories from different eras.

Tom Hiddleston is Charles Krantz, aka Chuck, in the movie, and the story revolves around this character. Although the three acts are a bit complicated, the pieces will begin to fall into place naturally. Part of the confusion arises because it plays in a reverse chronological order.

It starts with Act 3, where Chuck is dying, while the final act, Act 1, is where we see Chuck during his younger days. This is the part where a vision he sees prompts him to live the life, thus the life of Chuck, which is basically Act 2 in the film.

What vision does Chuck see in the final act of The Life of Chuck?

The film is based on Stephen King's novella. (Image via NEON)

Chuck is in high school in the final act and is living with his grandparents. Mark Hamill, who plays his grandfather Albie, has warned him against going into this one room, which contains what we can see as future visions. Chuck obeys, but only until his grandfather is alive.

Following the death of his grandfather, he visits this room and sees his future self dying of a disease. While a vision like this can be daunting to anyone, Chuck appears to be full of courage and decides to forget this and choose to live whatever's left of his life.

The chronological order of The Life of Chuck is there for a reason: to create the mystery. We see an apocalypse taking place in the first act, which is Act 3, and there are images of Chuck with the words "39 Great Years! Thanks Chuck!"

While the first act creates mystery and the last act reveals the answer to that mystery, the middle act is the essence of this film, as we see Tom Hiddleston's character living through his life. He has created a universe of his own in it.

The film gives a message everyone should understand but usually never do

Mike Flanagan has directed the film. (Image via NEON)

The message The Life of Chuck wants to give is simple: embrace everything while you are alive. You see, in normal cases, if someone is told that they are about to die, they are likely to start feeling worried, and probably their brain will cease to process the thought that only a few years or months are left for them to live. Maybe an existential crisis takes over, which is normal for even a normal human going about his daily life.

Act 2 of the film is basically saying life is what we make it, and Chuck certainly makes the best out of his. There is also a hidden meaning here. The end of the world is basically in Chuck's head. It's his life that is coming to an end. His life is one universe in itself, just like every living being has one.

It's a bittersweet end, maybe a bit teary, but when all the acts are done, you would want to create a life of... whatever they call themselves.