When the main character of a story thanks his friend for calling him an asshole, you know that you’re in a Chuck Palahniuk novel. Or, the movie based upon his novel.

Enter “Choke,” the film made from Palahniuk’s novel of the same name.

Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell, “The Assassination of Jesse James”) is a self-loathing sex addict who by day portrays life during the 18th century as a historical reenactor. By night, Mancini is a scam artist, wherein he visits restaurants and pretends to choke on food so someone will save his life and, hopefully, send him money. But, he doesn’t keep the money; instead, he uses this second “job” to pay for his mother Ida’s (Anjelica Huston, “Martian Child”) mental care facility bill. So, he’s not a total asshole.

Mancini’s “love” interest is Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald, “No Country for Old Men”), a doctor who works at the hospital where Ida resides.

First-time director Clark Gregg, who also adapted the screenplay, certainly goes beyond what would be expected from a newbie. The film doesn’t have any level of sophistication, class or maturity (like the book), and a lesser mind would have tried to inject some just to “prove” his or her worth behind the camera. Instead, Gregg flings Palahniuk’s story into the air and films what comes down. The results are truly fascinating.

Despite being a first-timer and despite the fact that this is only his second writing credit, the screenplay is beautifully adapted and very faithful to the book; though, one would hope for these results considering Gregg took two years to write an authentic adaptation. Depending on your taste when it comes to Palahniuk’s writing, this movie could be bliss or absolute hell.

The film is paced just as jaggedly as the book, which makes for an interesting, if ADD-addled, 90 minutes. The flashbacks to Mancini’s early years with his mother are intercut within the story itself, and the flashbacks themselves are usually triggered (at random) when Mancini does something that he did as a child.

Even more dissonant than the random flashbacks are the emotional moments of the movie. A scene of pure heartbreak is juxtaposed to a scene of pure hilarity, giving no time for the viewer to stop and think about what was just seen.

Again, for most films this moment-to-moment approach wouldn’t work, as most have not only a story to tell, but a specific way in which to tell it that makes sense to the audience. Palahniuk’s breakneck-pace style of writing, however, defies this notion completely and has resulted in his best work. Because Gregg continues in this vein, “Choke” works surprisingly well.

Perhaps the humor is the best part of the film. The deadpan delivery of many of the best jokes force the viewer to pay attention, if the pace of the movie didn’t already demand it. And Rockwell shines brightest when it’s his turn to deliver such a line. A statement like “I’m fucking you in a church trying to save my mom’s brain” wouldn’t work if said with a smile. Instead, Rockwell states it matter-of-factly, and it becomes the embodiment of absurdity.

Simply put, Rockwell was born to play this role. He seems as comfortable here as any role that he’s taken. In fact, everyone here seems to just be having fun: Henke grins throughout and Huston is just bat-shit crazy, seemingly having a blast doing it. The drawback here might be Macdonald, who over-emotes every line, distracting the viewer from the moments when it really matters.

The only real issue with the film concerns the photography. Some of the close-ups are shot with a hand that isn’t all that steady. The result is a scene in which the heads of characters are slightly swirling around the screen, making for a rather disorientating experience. That said, this doesn’t happen with every close-up, which raises the question of why some were shot like that and others weren’t.

That one problem aside, it is no surprise that we have another winner with a Palahniuk novel-turned-film in view of the fact that his writing style is perfectly suited for adaptation. “Awesome” isn’t the right word, but it’s the first one that comes to mind.

4 stars out of 5