Choke 2008

Victor Mancini, played by Sam Rockwell, is a sex addict working as a reenactor of life in Colonial America. He partners with his best friend, Denny, portrayed by Brad William Henke, who is also a reformed sex addict. In order to financially support his mother, who is currently hospitalized and under the care of Anjelica Huston, Victor resorts to a rather unorthodox method: he deliberately chokes in restaurants to elicit sympathy and monetary donations from those who come to his aid.

While visiting his mother one day, Victor encounters Paige Marshall, played by Kelly Macdonald, who informs him that his mother’s condition is deteriorating. She offers a glimmer of hope through an experimental stem cell procedure, which necessitates harvesting cells from the umbilical cord of a newborn that shares Victor’s genetic material. Paige persuades him to sleep with her in order to conceive a child to save his mother.

Haunted by the absence of his father and eager to uncover the truth about his lineage, Victor seeks answers from his mother. However, each visit proves frustrating, as she fails to recognize him. In a twist of fate, he enlists Denny to pose as him and glean information from her. Denny reveals that Victor’s mother maintained a diary, which Victor discovers, albeit written in Italian. Thankful for Paige’s help, Victor is relieved to learn that she can read the language and agrees to translate it for him.

Attempts at intimacy with Paige are met with frustration, as Victor finds himself unable to maintain an erection. Confiding in Denny leads him to realize he has deeper feelings for Paige. In an unexpected revelation, Paige shares a bizarre story about Victor’s mother potentially fleeing Italy after stealing Jesus’ foreskin, proposing that he was conceived using those very cells, making him the second coming. Torn between disbelief and belief, Victor ultimately succumbs to the idea.

The course of events takes a tragic turn when, after finally being recognized by his mother, she confesses to having stolen him as a baby, leaving him in the dark about his true lineage. Tragedy strikes as Victor inadvertently chokes his mother while offering her chocolate pudding, leading to her death.

In a shocking twist, as Paige attempts to resuscitate Victor’s mother, a hidden band around his mother’s wrist reveals that she is not a doctor, but rather a hospital patient herself. Paige confesses she has been in a catatonic state for years but has come to love Victor through the stories shared by his mother. Although she wore a white coat to calm herself, as a former medical student, her true role becomes clear when she decides to check herself out of the hospital without saying goodbye to Victor.

Following his mother’s funeral, Victor finds himself on a plane, only to have the bathroom door swing open, revealing Paige stepping in to join him.