Meewella | Critic

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Tag: Nathan Larson

QuickView: Choke (2001)

“I have sex with strangers because I’m incapable of doing it with someone I actually like. I can’t even ask anyone out on a date because if it doesn’t end up in a high speed chase, I get bored.”

Victor Mancini

Although Fight Club became an enduring success on home video (notwithstanding its misguided adoption by incels), to date Choke is the only other Chuck Palahniuk novel to be made into a film, and it’s safe to say it has not reached a similar status. In many ways Choke exemplifies the difficulty in adapting modern literature to the screen, where so much relies on knowledge of the characters’ perspectives, mental states, and thought processes. This often results in the lazy crutch of voice overs. Our inability to connect with the characters is no fault of the actors — all the leads are good — but rather a rapidly-paced script that never allows us the time to understand these individuals in more than the cynical overtones that drive the narrative and satire. Writer/director Clark Gregg is able deftly to shift tone between sombre and comedic without it feeling jarring, and Choke fully commits to both its cynicism and raunchiness. This provides the viewer with something to enjoy, even if the film struggles to elicit an emotional reaction.

5/10

QuickView: Juliet, Naked (2018)

“I may look like a nice, well-adjusted English lady in a sensible cardigan, but these days it’s a thin veneer, and it’s started to crack.”

Annie Platt

Based on the book by Nick Hornby, the film’s first hurdle is the preposterous premise of a woman inadvertantly connecting online with the rockstar recluse with whom her partner is obsessed. Provided you can suspend your disbelief, however, there are some great performances to enjoy in this light British romantic drama. Rose Byrne swiftly earns the audience’s sympathy with gentle charm, whilst Ethan Hawke shows aspects of his performance in the Before trilogy. The real theme is less romance than how we respond to regret either by remaining tied to the past or by looking to future possibility. Juliet, Naked may not offer any deep answers, but it is enjoyable to watch unfold and ends with a hopeful tone whilst avoiding the saccharine endings that plague most romcoms.

7/10

"A film is a petrified fountain of thought."

(CC) BY-NC 2003-2023 Priyan Meewella

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