Choke

-"Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails

We always want to find put why people treat themselves and/or treat others the way they do. Someone repulsive to us may also interest us as a case study of sorts. Is it because they do not feel good enough? Is it because there is no one around to punish them so they have to punish themselves? Was it because of some crippling childhood trauma? Or is it simply a rebellion against a world that is no longer civilized in their eyes? "Choke" is not a movie that seeks to answer all these questions for the benefit of mankind. It seeks to look for answers for the sake of one individual, Victor Mancini, who is a sex addict going to anonymous meetings, yet succeeds more in scoring with the women there then in improving himself. I don't mean to make the movie sound as serious as it is in the end a satire, and a gleefully politically incorrect one at that.

"Choke" was written and directed by Clark Gregg, and it is based on the viciously satirical novel by Chuck Palahniuk, the man who also wrote the book "Fight Club" which later became a movie and an unsung cinematic masterpiece of the late 1990's. Both books deal with characters stuck in a world they slave in with no real pleasure, and who are deeply sad and want to feel something real in their lives, anything. But as much as they want something that is real, they are also frightened by it. And then something comes along to change the way they see their life and others around them.

Sam Rockwell is perfectly cast here as Victor Mancini, the archetypal anti-hero of Palahniuk's stories, a man scarred by life and fighting against it at the expense of himself and others. When he is not making out with his fellow sex addicts, he works at a historical theme park as a colonial servant. Watching this part of the movie reminded me a lot of when I worked at Disneyland. If it ever got as crazy there as it did at the theme park in this movie, I have no idea. However, things were almost as cynical. Anyway, back to the movie. When he is not working at the theme park, he is going to expensive restaurants pretending to choke to death so that a wealthy patron will save his life with the ever reliable Heimlich maneuver, and that this act of heroism will make this person give Vincent some money. The money he gets from his "near death" experiences help to finance his mother's medical care at a local nursing home. Quite a life huh?

What I liked about "Choke" is that it is full of surprises that you don't see coming. Also, it takes you on a journey with a character who we would probably not want to hang out with in real life, but who we cannot take our eyes off when he is on the screen. The first introduction of Vincent Mancini may very well put off a good portion of the audience, but the movie succeeds in slowly showing us how he came to be the way he is. When these revelations come about, they make perfect sense, and they get deeper at the character to where we understand him better.

The change in Vincent's life comes about when he meets up with his mother's doctor, Paige Marshall (Kelly McDonald). Vincent, of course, is instantly attracted to her, but she is now willing to sleep with him at first sight. She sees his desperation to sleep her as part of his deep sadness of his inability to help his mother who is suffering from dementia and does not even recognize her son. Vincent's mother keeps thinking he is one of her many lawyers who comes to visit her regularly. From then on, Vincent finds himself unable to get it on with any woman, and this is especially the case when he tries to make out with a woman in a church with Jesus on the cross staring down at him.

Throughout the movie, it flashes back and forth in time as we see Angelica Huston, who plays Vincent's mother, raising her son in a very unconventional way by herself. She succeeds in warping his sensibilities in a way that makes not trust people or connect with them too easily. She steals her son away from his foster parents, and she takes him with her when she is foolishly freeing animals from a zoo. Suffice to say, Vincent is not brought up in a traditional way. As the movie goes on, it becomes clearer that Vincent might have not turned out this way necessarily, and that he is a victim of a rough upbringing. As the movie nears its climax, the plight of Vincent Mancini becomes all the more clear.

"Choke" is not perfect, and the pace of the movie sags a bit here and there. Some forgiveness is in order here because (according to IMDB) the movie was shot in the space of 3 weeks, and it was finished 3 days before its screening at Sundance. You have to admire everyone involved with this movie for getting it together that quickly. But the speed of the movie did affect its quality to a certain extent. When people come to this movie, you know that they will instantly compare it to "Fight Club." This is almost unfair because David Fincher had a much bigger budget than Clark Gregg had when he made this movie, but the themes surrounding both movies and the characters inhabiting them are similar. They deal with characters who have been let down by society as they have seen it, and who rebel against it until they find they need to pull back from that rebellion to see where their place in the world really is. As a result of the similarities, "Choke" pales in comparison to "Fight Club." Part of the pleasure of the movie depends on your expectations going in, and mine were a little higher than usual.

The movie is well cast, and Sam Rockwell does really well in playing characters who are not always likable, but who are engaging in one way or another. I also liked Anjelica Huston as Vincent's mother Ida who we see raising her only son on her own in an incredibly unorthodox way, and then as a woman in the final throes of dementia who remains charming even if she doesn't recognize her son when he visits her. Another great performance comes from Kelly Macdonald who plays Ida's doctor who befriends Vincent, and who herself offers an unorthodox solution to helping Ida's deteriorating state of mind. She is also not all that she appears to be. Director Clark Gregg is also in the film as a fellow theme park employee who is much deeper into his job than anyone should be. The acting really helps to elevate the story into a more believable realm even as it heads into what seems like ridiculous and unlikely situations. The movie is indeed very well cast.

The movie has some very funny satirical moments, but not all of them work successfully. Once again, we are dealing with a comedy (a very dark and satirical one) that is hit and miss. The stuff that does hit may not reach all audiences who view this movie (which itself is not for all audiences), but it should be sufficient for those in the mood for more adventurous and dirty cinema. But the movie does a good job in showing the after effects of an upbringing filled with love but also thoughtless neglect. It also looks at how what wounds us as a child ends up very much informing who we become as an adult. On that level, the movie is very interesting if you are willing to stay with it long enough.

I did actually try to read "Choke" some time ago, but I never got around to finishing it for some reason. I wasn't offended or sickened by it (it's Chuck Palahniuk for crying out loud!), I just didn't quite get the point of it all. What this movie shows is that you really need to stick with a story long enough to get what it is all about. To give up on it early on doesn't do you any good. As a result, I hope to get around to reading the book again. At least, as soon as I get finished with all these "Fletch" books.

*** out of ****