The second adaptation from the literary works of Chuck Palahniuk had a lot to live up to, considering that the first was a Bona fide masterpiece. It doesn't come anywhere near Fight Club, but its good in its own low-key way and tells a more personal story.
Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) is a sex-addict who pays his bills by pretending to choke on food in restaurants. We enter his world of senile mothers (Angelica Huston), similarly afflicted best friends (Brad William Henke) and his personal sentence of living in a world of inescapable sleaze. Oh, and there's also a female doctor (Kelly MacDonald) who just might be Victor's way out. My favourite thing about this film was the infrequent voice-over which clearly was taken directly from Palahniuk's page and had the terrific cynical black wit that his novels possess. Its a shame there wasn't more of it. That apart, this is an acting showcase for Sam Rockwell and Angelica Huston, who both completely inhabit their roles that they almost disappear into them. Rockwell, has become in recent years pretty much the king of indie-cinema and rightly so because he's great in pretty much everything he's in (even galaxy quest) and no-one is more perfect for this role then him. Huston, back from taking bit parts in Wes Anderson movies and Orange cinema adverts, brings incredible sympathy to what could have been a highly unsymapthetic role. Special mention to Kelly MacDonald, who's final scene but one is the best in the movie, and on the back of No country for old men, she's becoming a nice little character actress. A lead role can't be too far ahead. The script is OK, but you get the sense it could have been much better and Director/writer Clark Gregg couldn't resist warming the whole thing up a little.
A nice little movie that did exceed my expectations, but not by much. Hopefully Rockwell will go on to greater things on the back of this.
Rating: 7/10
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