An extreme exploration of sexual deviancy, compulsions and abnormalities, Choke is thought-provoking and challenging. It dwells on oddities to make the story unpredictable and spontaneous, instead of presenting eccentricities just for the sake of being weird. This darkly humorous work features outstanding performances by its clever cast, as well as some of the most perversely shocking and hilariously vulgar explanations of self destruction and redemption.

To pay for an expensive hospital room for his mother, who can no longer even recognize her own son, Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) frequently pretends to choke during meals at expensive restaurants. Planning to be saved by the wealthiest patrons, he then parasitically feeds on their heroism and sympathies for the life they’ve saved. Conning his rescuers through letters and updates on his life (renewing the “savior experience” as he calls it), he continually receives money to use for his mother.

While not pulling his scam, Victor works at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park (imagine the Renaissance Festival) where he portrays the backbone of America – an Irish indentured servant. Along with his best friend Denny (Brad William Henke) he also finds time to cruise sexual addiction recovery meetings looking for quick action. But when his mother Ida (Angelica Huston) slips deeper into derangement, he seeks out murky truths about his childhood with the help of the mysterious Dr. Paige Marshall (Kelly MacDonald).

As Victor narrates his piteous existence, he’s on a fast track to being the most unordinary of misfits; and yet he ends up being our antihero and the least of the insane. In the world of Choke, even the nuns are scum. Although a med-school dropout, a man with few morals and an insatiable lust for meaningless sex, Victor still manages to be a character to hail. Well-placed flashbacks give us insight on his unfavorably anomalistic childhood, as well as the purity and innocence that once existed in our now corrupted paladin.

The narcissism and peculiarities of the characters in Choke account for its uniqueness and its dark, vulgar humor. Although its target audience might be slim, the success of Palahniuk’s only other theatrically adapted story Fight Club might boost interests in this original and highly entertaining film. The similarities between the two are limited, aside from the quirky dialogue, deviant subject matter and the frequenting of rehabilitation workshops, but the idea that the most twisted minds can eventually produce sound satisfaction is a testament to these often morbid plotlines.

- Mike Massie

Read the Exclusive Interview with "Choke" Director Clark Gregg!

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