Choke

pity about the film which is awful

By turns, quirky, funny, wistful and insightful there's so much going on in this film that it asks a lot of its cast to make such a complex scenario engaging. Thankfully they are more than up to the task, especially Sam Rockwell who is always worth watching - and who dominates this film. Kelly MacDonald is excellent too, despite an unusual accent.... and the seemingly ageless Angelica Huston too. The tourist-venue episodes are a hoot as well. This is one of those little gems you don't come across among the mainstream films - not family viewing but well worth seeking out.

I don't think that it's the best adaptation of his work, but really not half bad.

Sam Rockwell puts in another solid performance, making the unforgiveable almost likeable. Not as 'in your face' as Fight, but the slow burn, makes it deeper, darker and a little more creepy. It side steps the street brawl in favour of something that grabs you from behind, and make you want to tap out before your breath stops coming.

Chuck Palahniuk's Choke is one of my favourite books and it was to my surprise it was adapted to film as it would be impossible to be 100% faithful to the source. Mainly because it would be banned instantly!

I went in with lowish hopes and came out pleasantly surprised. As expected, the content was significantly cut, but what was left in was acted superbly by a great cast. Despite the ideas the film deals with (sexual depravity, mental illness, cons etc), I feel it comes off as quite a warm, sweet film.

I think you will either get it or you won't, but I would much rather take a chance on something like this rather than Transformers 3 - Lets Sell Some Toys.

Having been a longstanding fan of the novel, despite but more likely because of its unashamed attempts to provoke and gross-out its readers, I finished this film unusually unaffected. Not because I felt fully satisfied by it as an adaptation (really, when does this ever happen with a book you love?) but because it was almost like the sitcom adaptation of it. What was written as bleak, frenetic yet blackly comic emerges on screen as oddly likeable.

When I read that there was an adaptation in the works, it was obvious that we couldn't expect another adaptation as finely attuned as Fight Club. David Fincher channeled Palahniuk perfectly, adding his own gloomy visuals and nervy but precise editing. Clark Gregg has focused in on a buddy movie format, excised some of the novels more outré linguistic tics and softened Victor into a redeemable but mixed up scamp and Denny into a Seth Rogen-esque loveable bear of a man. Some of their actions in the book wouldn't pass even in the world of Sundance-bound US indie film, so we were bound to see a great deal of editing, but considering these people are addicts we see none of the damaging psychological effects or indeed causes that Palahniuk was willing to root around the darker recesses of his imagination to conjure.

Of course, simply by casting such fine actors you remove many of the barriers between the characters and the audience, and along with having Sam Rockwell narrate directly to the viewer, they immediately see the whole story through his eyes. Rockwell makes for an energetic, wry lead, and continues the fine run of movies in which he has shown so much talent. And Angelica Huston is as magnetic and engaging as ever, even if the film omits a lot of the danger and pathos of her back-story with Victor that were so vital in balancing the humour and grotesquery of the sex addict years. Brad William Henke is a fine foil, and Kelly Macdonald manages to inhabit the difficult role of Paige Marshall with a spacy, distant yet troubled portrayal.

If you have read the book, try and enjoy it as a separate experience. There's a lot missing, much of it quite vital, but it is enjoyable as a knockabout indie comedy-drama. The only worry is that, with so much excised, it is in danger of looking no more edgy than a Judd Apatow-produced comedy film, without half the laughs.