When Chuck Palahnuik writes a character, it always feels like someone you may know, but not someone you’ve seen before. He takes these unique and fascinating (sometimes sickening) men and women and weaves a story around their life. CHOKE is certainly a good example of this. Victor Mancini is a womanizing sex addict, who is also a con-man with a day job reenacting history. Bizarre? Yes. But interesting none the less. If you love FIGHT CLUB, you are in for a big surprise here. While still not lacking that sense of Palahnuik’s novel, CHOKE is directed by Clark Gregg (who also wrote the screenplay) as a dark comedy with a strong sense of sympathy for Mancini.
Sitting across from both Palahnuik and Gregg was a very pleasant experience. I appreciate what Chuck had to say about his work. And I also appreciated hearing Clark’s take. CHOKE is really a tale of a son who has no idea of how to relate to his unstable mother. A surprisingly sensitive tale of self-discovery. And if you’d like to check out CHOKE, a few of you will be able to this coming Friday when it opens in limited release.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed