Choke 2008

Rockwell’s Victor Mancini is a complex figure, a sex addict by trade who compensates for his emotional numbness by reenacting life in Colonial America alongside his best friend Denny (Brad William Henke), a fellow reformed addict. But beneath the façade of revelry lies a deeper purpose: supporting his hospitalized mother (Huston) through a peculiar scheme, where Victor intentionally simulates choking at restaurants to collect compensation from would-be rescuers.

One fateful day, while visiting his mother, Victor crosses paths with Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald), a compassionate caregiver who is tending to his mother’s deteriorating condition. Paige presents Victor with an extraordinary proposition: by impregnating her and harvesting the stem cells from their child’s umbilical cord, they can potentially save his mother’s life through an experimental treatment. The terms of their agreement are clear: Victor must surrender to Paige’s charms, a prospect that sends him into a tailspin of self-doubt.

As Victor navigates this Faustian bargain, he becomes increasingly desperate to uncover the truth about his own past, particularly the identity of his long-lost father. Denny (Brad William Henke) agrees to pose as Victor, donning the persona of his friend’s paternal figure in order to extract crucial information from Victor’s mother. The discovery of a diary, penned in Italian, serves only to deepen Victor’s sense of disorientation.

Enter Paige, who not only professes fluency in Italian but also offers to translate the cryptic journal entries. As Victor and Paige attempt to consummate their agreement, however, his sexual dysfunction raises doubts about his capacity for intimacy. Denny’s counsel ultimately prompts Victor to confront his true feelings, which he reveals to be a burgeoning love for Paige.

But just as Victor begins to find solace in this unexpected connection, Paige drops a bombshell: she suspects that Victor’s mother may have fled Italy after pilfering Jesus’ foreskin, using the stolen cells to conceive their son – effectively rendering him the second coming. Though initially skeptical, Victor finds himself drawn into Paige’s mystifying world, where the lines between reality and fantasy blur.

As Victor’s mother finally recognizes her wayward son, a poignant moment of closure unfolds, only to be brutally cut short when Victor inadvertently chokes her with chocolate pudding. In the aftermath of this tragic event, Paige reveals that she is not, in fact, a doctor but rather a voluntary patient at the hospital, admitted years prior and struggling to recover from a catatonic state.

The revelation sends shockwaves through Victor’s psyche, as he comes to terms with the true nature of his connection with Paige – a woman who has been living in the shadows, her identity slowly unraveling like the threads of a tapestry. As Paige checks herself out of the hospital without so much as a farewell glance at Victor, the screen fades to black, leaving the audience pondering the labyrinthine paths that have led this troubled individual down the rabbit hole of self-discovery.

As the grief of losing his mother still lingered, Victor (actor name) found himself on a flight, lost in thought as he navigated the cramped confines of the airplane’s lavatory. The door creaked open, and with it, the unexpected arrival of Paige, whose presence was as sudden as it was jarring. As the two strangers stood side by side at the sink, the stark fluorescent lighting above illuminated a moment that would prove to be a turning point in Victor’s journey - one marked by an awkward encounter, yet pregnant with possibilities for connection and transformation.