Thursday, October 9, 2008
Victor’s life is just the way he wants it. He causes chaos as a “historical interpreter” at a colonial theme park, has sex with every female he comes in contact with, and chokes on food for money.
The scam is simple, really. He just cuts off an unusually large portion of food, stuffs it down his throat until he can’t breathe, and lets the person wearing the nicest watch in the room save his life. He then guilt trips his saviors into sending him money on a regular basis, which he uses to pay his mother’s hospital bills.
Based on the popular Chuck Palahniuk book, Choke tells the story of Victor Mancini, a sex-addicted tour guide who ends up falling for one of his mother’s doctors, Paige Marshall. Though he’s afraid to admit it, Victor—played disgustingly well by Sam Rockwell—starts to realize he might not be the horrible bastard he thinks he is. Upon discovering who his father might be, Victor even shows signs of having something he has never had before: a conscience.
Choke is a low-budget film that makes up for its run-of-the-mill production value and lack of fancy camera shots with a great story, anchored by both Rockwell and the always dependable Anjelica Huston. Writer and director Clark Gregg makes the movie shine with engaging dialogue and an overall quirky style.
Anyone who is a fan of the book, however, may be a little disappointed as the film lacks some of the punch and grit present in the novel. Even though Choke is one of the dirtier and more perverse movies to come out this year, every aspect of Palahniuk’s raunchy story could not be translated onto the screen.
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