“If you are going to read this, don’t bother. After a couple of pages, you won’t want to be here. So forget it. Go away. Get out while you’re still in one piece. Save yourself.”-- Chuck Palahniuk, ChokeFrom maverick author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) and breakout new writer-director Clark Gregg comes the subversively comedic tale of Victor Mancini, con artist, sex addict, Colonial village re-enactor, angst-filled son, serial restaurant choker . . . and unsuspecting romantic antihero for our unsettling times.Victor (Sam Rockwell), in an effort to pay for his demented mother’s (Academy Award® winner Anjelica Huston) private healthcare, engages in a brazen scam. While dining in upscale restaurants, he deliberately chokes on his food, allowing himself to be “saved” by wealthy good Samaritans who grow so close to him in the wake of their heroic Heimlich Maneuvers, they lavish him with cheques. His day job at a historical theme park is no more conventional; and when he isn’t busy being a put upon Pilgrim, gagging violently or visiting the mother who doesn’t recognize him, Victor is cruising sexaholic recovery meetings for action.It’s no wonder Victor feels adrift. But when his declining mother hints at the identity of his long lost father, Victor hopes it can finally provide the answers he has been searching for. With the help of his fellow sex addict Denny (Brad William Henke), Victor befriends his mother’s alluring young physician (Golden Globe® nominee Kelly Macdonald), who leads him to believe his origins may be far more shockingly divine than he ever could have imagined. So is Victor Mancini still the no-good loser he always thought he would be, or could he possibly be some crazy kind of saviour?CHOKE, which ran away with the Special July Prize for Best Work by an Ensemble Cast at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is not only a cathartic and romantic satire about uncontrolled lust, lost faith, childhood trauma, mad addictions, bizarre fantasies and blockages both emotionally and literally, but also about second chances, redemptive moments and true love – that is, it’s about modern life.
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"Sick, twisted, yet touching and criminally funny... "
Colonial re-enactment. Erectile dysfunction. Senile dementia. This bizarre Holy Trinity make up what is one of the most original, touching and downright hilarious films that I have seen in a very long time.
Based on the book of the same name (written by Chuck Palahniuk who also wrote Fight Club no less) we follow Vincent (played magnificently by Sam Rockwell) as he endeavours not only to cure himself of his sex addiction, but also to work out whether he has a father or was cloned from the foreskin of Jesus Christ (see what I did there with the Holy Trinity - I'm funny huh!).
It's a strange old film this, managing to find the perfect blend of humour and sincerity, without ever being clichéd. It serves up traditional heart warming tales - a sons love for his mother, the unbreakable friendship between best friends, and finally finding true love. The venues for these tales are not so traditional - read special care facility (aka looney bin), strip club and airplane toilet cubicle.
Whilst I am basing this on no personal experience whatsoever, it would appear that Choke manages that which is near impossible in Hollywood - turning a great book into a great film. So often the sense of character and individuality is lost during the transfer from page to celluloid (as if proof were needed just look at Captain Correli's Mandolin), but unless Choke is single-handedly the best book ever written, I think that this adaptation can only do it justice (but I'd still recommend you read the book - I'm definitely going to!).
