Based on cult author Chuck Palahniuk’s 2001 novel, Choke has been a long time coming. A literal 7 year process for actor-turned-writer/director Clark Gregg in getting the film made, added to huge fan expectations for an author whose work has not been adapted to the screen in 9 years, the project has a lot to live up to from the get-go. Now add to that the inherent difficulty of successfully transitioning Choke’s difficult subject matter without losing any of its edge or spirit, a work tackling everything from sexual addiction to Jesus Christ. So, needless to say my expectations were tempered, my hopes for the film riding squarely on an unproven director’s vision. It’s a relief to be able to say that Gregg has done the spirit of the novel justice and that Choke’s adaptation is pretty much as audacious, intelligently subversive and daring as its source material.
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