Author Chuck Palahniuk is known for his shocking storylines and racy content, but his true individuality is expressed through his writing style. He speaks to the audience through his complicated characters and reveals his own insights about life through his characters’ experiences.

Reading Palahniuk is like learning the deepest secrets about your most mysterious friend. It’s always interesting to see how his stories translate to film. In this case, the movie falls short of the book.

Palahniuk’s novel “Choke” was recently adapted for film by screenwriter and director Clark Gregg. The movie centers on protagonist, Victor Mancini, (Sam Rockwell) a part-time ‘historical interpreter’ at a colonial village and a full-time sex addict who seems to have slept with every female in the movie, save his mother.

His mother, Ida (Anjelica Huston,) is a victim of dementia heightened by years of substance abuse and is quickly deteriorating in the hospital. Victor pays for his mother’s hospital bills by pretending to choke in restaurants and seeking compensation from the Good Samaritans that ‘save’ him.

Victor’s friend, co-worker and fellow sex addict is Denny (Brad William Henke). He falls in love with a stripper named Cherry Daquiri (Gillian Jacobs) and starts collecting rocks for every day of sobriety, and every day he can keep his hands out of his pants.

“Choke” flashes back to Victor’s childhood several times throughout the movie. Through this the audience witnesses the adventures of Victor and his delusional mother, who always seem to be on the run. We piece together Victor’s past and contemplate Victor’s surprise when he finds his face on a milk carton. The audience then starts to understand that adult Victor’s motives behind choking have more to do with feeling love than supporting his mother.

His twisted relationship with love adds to his difficulties while performing with the person he actually wants to be with, coincidentally his mother’s doctor Paige Marshall, (Kelly Mcdonald). Victor explains his performance issues by insisting, “I want to like you instead.”

The moral of the 98-minute movie is that nothing appears how it truly is. The conclusion: cliché and boring with a few moments of nudity to keep things interesting.

The novel digs deeper into a place where words penetrate harder than visuals. Readers also witness Palahniuk’s genius way with words that don’t translate to film. To really understand how the various plot lines feed off each other, save your $7, read the book and then we will talk.

“Choke” is playing at the Dundee Theater, 4952 Dodge St. and at AMC Oakview Plaza 24, 3555 S. 140th Plaza.