Any Chuck Palahniuk fans out there? This thread is mainly for the purposes of the semi-recently released movie, but obviously discussion of the novel is germane to the thread too.
So, I finally got around to seeing Choke today after being initially very disappointed that its limited release wouldn't cover my small town. I gotta say, given some reviews I've read, I liked this much better than I expected to. Then again, I'm a dyed in the wool Palahniuk fan, so I suppose I'm predisposed to like it.
Surprisingly, and to my glee, they kept some of the filthier stuff from the book in the movie. Usually I'm not one for excessive sex for excessive sex's sake, but it's integral to the story of Choke and I'm glad to see it wasn't really diluted that much.
Sam Rockwell is perfect as Victor Mancini. When reading the novel the first time around I had a hard time picturing who could play so cavalierly crass one moment and then do dramatic heavy lifting the next, but I'm glad Writer/Director Clark Gregg thought of Rockwell. His portrayal just couldn't be more perfect.
I wasn't familiar with Kelly MacDonald (Paige Marshall) before seeing this (although I realize now that she was in No Country For Old Men) and until about half way through the movie I was really not enamored with her performance at all. It seemed very wooden and I felt like she was telegraphing the novel's big twist like crazy. Then again, I knew the twist going in so I can't be sure. She grew on me by the end of the movie a little bit but I think someone else could have done the role better service. I'm sure she's a fine actress because there's one or two moments of brilliance in the second and third acts, but by and large I think she was miscast.
The rest of the cast is really good, especially the guy playing Denny (whose name presently escapes me) and director Gregg himself has a nice little role as the douchebag running Colonial Dunsboro.
I suppose the most "legendary" member of the cast is Anjelica Huston as Ida Mancini. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with her performance, but reading the novel, I always imagined her as a little more spiteful and shrill, especially in her old age.
I suppose the problem with the movie (as a fan of the source material) is that there isn't enough. Palahniuk's other novel adapted for the screen, Fight Club, felt rich. The world was all-encompassing and almost suffocating in a good way. That technique wouldn't precisely have worked for this movie. It's a different kind of story. But it's shot almost like a regular old romantic comedy, at a leisurely pace. There's not nearly as much going on in Choke as there is in Fight Club, but Palahniuk's narrative still moves at a break-neck pace. This movie lacks that, with the exception of a few quick cuts to Victor's various conquests.
Fight Club also had a lot of narration and while this movie has a bit of that, it could have used more. The funniest and most poignant stuff in the book was often Victor's internal observations of people and events and you lose a little of that ascerbic commentary as it moves along.
On the whole though, and considering it was shot on a mere fraction of Fight Club's budget, it's not a bad little movie. Fans of dark comedy should check it out and it's an absolute must for anyone who's ever sat down and read anything Palahniuk's ever done.
So, I finally got around to seeing Choke today after being initially very disappointed that its limited release wouldn't cover my small town. I gotta say, given some reviews I've read, I liked this much better than I expected to. Then again, I'm a dyed in the wool Palahniuk fan, so I suppose I'm predisposed to like it.
Surprisingly, and to my glee, they kept some of the filthier stuff from the book in the movie. Usually I'm not one for excessive sex for excessive sex's sake, but it's integral to the story of Choke and I'm glad to see it wasn't really diluted that much.
Sam Rockwell is perfect as Victor Mancini. When reading the novel the first time around I had a hard time picturing who could play so cavalierly crass one moment and then do dramatic heavy lifting the next, but I'm glad Writer/Director Clark Gregg thought of Rockwell. His portrayal just couldn't be more perfect.
I wasn't familiar with Kelly MacDonald (Paige Marshall) before seeing this (although I realize now that she was in No Country For Old Men) and until about half way through the movie I was really not enamored with her performance at all. It seemed very wooden and I felt like she was telegraphing the novel's big twist like crazy. Then again, I knew the twist going in so I can't be sure. She grew on me by the end of the movie a little bit but I think someone else could have done the role better service. I'm sure she's a fine actress because there's one or two moments of brilliance in the second and third acts, but by and large I think she was miscast.
The rest of the cast is really good, especially the guy playing Denny (whose name presently escapes me) and director Gregg himself has a nice little role as the douchebag running Colonial Dunsboro.
I suppose the most "legendary" member of the cast is Anjelica Huston as Ida Mancini. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with her performance, but reading the novel, I always imagined her as a little more spiteful and shrill, especially in her old age.
I suppose the problem with the movie (as a fan of the source material) is that there isn't enough. Palahniuk's other novel adapted for the screen, Fight Club, felt rich. The world was all-encompassing and almost suffocating in a good way. That technique wouldn't precisely have worked for this movie. It's a different kind of story. But it's shot almost like a regular old romantic comedy, at a leisurely pace. There's not nearly as much going on in Choke as there is in Fight Club, but Palahniuk's narrative still moves at a break-neck pace. This movie lacks that, with the exception of a few quick cuts to Victor's various conquests.
Fight Club also had a lot of narration and while this movie has a bit of that, it could have used more. The funniest and most poignant stuff in the book was often Victor's internal observations of people and events and you lose a little of that ascerbic commentary as it moves along.
On the whole though, and considering it was shot on a mere fraction of Fight Club's budget, it's not a bad little movie. Fans of dark comedy should check it out and it's an absolute must for anyone who's ever sat down and read anything Palahniuk's ever done.
