Two Dramas from Maple Pictures

Choke (September 26/08)

There's certainly no mistaking Choke for anything other than an adaptation of a Chuck Palahniuk novel, as the film is chock full of the sort of anarchistic, nihilistic musings that the Fight Club author has become known for. And while the movie boasts an expectedly superb performance from Sam Rockwell, it's hard to deny that the increasingly random and aimless atmosphere inevitably wears one down. Rockwell stars as Victor Mancini, a low-life sex addict who must cope with the declining health of his ailing mother (Anjelica Huston's Ida) - as well as the very real prospect that, for the first time in his sleazy existence, he's finally experiencing actual feelings for another person (Kelly Macdonald's Paige Marshall). Fans of Palahniuk's book will probably find more here to embrace than detractors, as writer/director Clark Gregg has admittedly done a fine job of capturing the sardonic essence of the source material. Yet the relentlessly cynical modus operandi eventually does grow tiresome, with the film's various problems exacerbated by the aggressively freewheeling nature of Gregg's screenplay. There's little doubt, however, that Choke's visuals ultimately prove to be its most egregious failing, as Tim Orr tests the viewer's patience virtually from the word go with the oppressively muddy, downright unpleasant cinematography. One's subsequent attempts at overlooking the movie's deficiencies are seriously stymied, with the end result a hopelessly uneven effort that's generally more effective as an actor's showcase than as a fully-realized piece of work.

There's little doubt that The Lucky Ones benefits substantially from the strength and charisma of its three leads, as the inclusion of several egregiously inauthentic interludes ultimately dampens the film's overall effect. The slight storyline follows three soldiers (Tim Robbins' Cheever, Rachel McAdams' Colee, and Michael Pena's TK) as they embark on a road trip after their respective flights are cancelled, with the bulk of the film devoted to the low-key and character-building conversations that ensue en route. Filmmaker Neil Burger does a nice job of fleshing out each of the central characters, which ultimately ensures that The Lucky Ones is at its best when focused solely on the more intimate moments between the trio. It's only as Burger and co-writer Dirk Wittenborn slowly-but-surely introduce other elements into the proceedings that one's interest starts to wane, as it becomes increasingly easy to roll one's eyes at the heavy-handed vignettes that begin cropping up on an all-too-frequent basis (ie Colee has a run-in with laughably obnoxious sorority girls, Cheever's wife can barely hide her contempt when he arrives home, etc). Such problems are exacerbated by a serious loss of momentum that occurs within the film's third act, with the decision to split up the leads certainly not doing the already-erratic film any favors. And while the ingratiating performances ensure that the whole thing remains consistently watchable, The Lucky Ones - saddled with an overlong running time - is never quite able to make the kind of emotional impact on the viewer that Burger is clearly striving for.