First in a flurry: "Choke" Review

I don't know if I could pinpoint exactly where I knew that "Choke" was going to be great, but it's safe to say that it was pretty early on in the film. I'm a huge Chuck Palahnuik fan and I really love his way of making even the most abstract and absurd situation seem entirely familiar and related to the universal themes of the human condition. I never thought I could relate to a transvestite stealing prescription drugs from the elderly or a man struggling to become a hegemonic televangelist until I got carried away in the magic of his books. His characters seemed flawed in a way that I could not only associate myself with, but learned profound truths about identity and what makes us human. Perhaps most importantly, his books were quirky, unique, and really fun to read.

"Choke" was an immensely difficult film to write and script. Palahnuik's books tend to be in the first person, centered around an eccentric protagonist whose life spins out of control around him and "Choke" is no exception. Our hero is a sex addict going through his 12 step program and working at as a historical tour guide in a 17th century recreation. He funds his mother's expensive nursing home stay by choking at fine restaurants and endearing himself to those who save his life so he can hit them up for money. His best friend is constantly in the town stocks and trying to get into a relationship with a stripper. This material is not the easiest source matter with which to create a movie that normal people find believable or create a coherent plot around. However, Clark Gregg does a masterful job adapting the book and the movie really works.

Sam Rockwell is pitch-perfect as Victor Mancini, the lead, and the rest of the cast is also game, which creates an atmosphere that can sustain the material - which was no easy task. Similar to "Fight Club," "Choke" was either going to be the Hindenburg or work beautifully and I'm glad to say that it lived up to my expectations. I couldn't figured out how Gregg was going to tie it all together because the book itself unravelled and struggled to tie together the loose ends. In the end, he managed to make Rockwell something of a sympathetic hero who's transformation and love changed the world around him in a touching way. I think it's important to acknowledge that the world that we live in is changed by deeply flawed individuals the same way it's changed by the archetypal heroes of our mainstream Hollywood films.

While "Choke" is not perfect and the narrative can sometimes seem a bit choppy as it cuts back and forth from Victor's past and present, it works surprisingly well and has a much bigger heart than I thought it might. I really enjoyed this film and would highly recommend it.

Grade: A-