Choke Hold Film Review
Summary: A rare, purest look into what makes pro wrestling tick.
5
This is Awesome
Living in Tampa, Florida is to know the world of professional wrestling. So many wrestlers call the Tampa Bay area their home, with WWE’s training center located forever but a 10 minute drive from my home. Moreover, the lesser stalwart that is independent wrestling (mainly, anything outside of WWE and AEW) has a firm foothold in these parts, so much so I started a Web site dedicated to the athletes and talent from the independent promotions.
Easily the most rewarding part of being immersed in wrestling culture is to get to know the people behind the industry, amazing athletes and entertainers truly dedicated to their craft. There is so much brilliance and beauty to the sport, let alone history, culture and diversity in execution. Literally each region and promotion features unique aspects of wrestling storytelling all their own. Lucha Libre, Strong Style, Shoot, Submission…there’s so much to love!
Sadly, much of public wrestling culture is dominated by ‘smarks,’ would-be experts who overly criticize every aspect of pro wrestling big and small. This negative dominance dismisses the amazing sacrifices every member of the pro wrestling community makes to chase their impossible dream. With the rarest exception, even the biggest names in WWE started somewhere small…in a tiny venue with a couple dozen people watching them work their craft. There’s literally tens of thousands of wrestlers scrapping by in hopes of lighting up an audience, the adrenaline of executing a beautiful match, and potentially making it to the elusive major promotion with millions watching.
Along the way, I’ve met some truly wonderful members of the wrestling community, many of which who wrote for the Web site. One of my favorite people along this journey is Chase ‘Cauliflower’ Brown, a terrific wrestling talent skilled in power moves, Lucha-style acrobatics, and a wonderful storyteller. I’ve had the pleasure of watching him work across a number of wrestling promotions. Brown is quite artistic when not in the ring, a terrific musician and now Associate Producer (and actor) of ‘Choke Hold.’
Choke Hold is a shorter (~18 min) snapshot about the typical journey, sacrifices, mistakes and pseudo-triumphs of an independent wrestler trying to make his mark. Directed by Max McGillivray, it’s a gorgeously presented glimpse behind the curtain into this community that captures its essence perfectly. Brown’s handprint is clear in its authenticity, and he likewise chips in via serving as the referee in the ending. I absolutely loved it, and will you if you possess even a passing interest in pro wrestling.
Good news? Choke Hold is free and available here.
Official description:
Brendon is a young man living in North Carolina, where he aspires to be a professional wrestler. He trains hard and practices in his backyard, filming himself as “The Real Deal,” complete with his infamous finishing move, the “Camaro crash.” He has amassed a loyal following on YouTube, but he has yet to break into the professional arena.
Time is running out on his dream. His loyal friend Skinny gets Brendan a job at a local used car sales lot, where he can succeed. But just as Brendan is about to give up on wrestling, he gets a prized opportunity at a promotion — and bets it all on his big shot, determined to succeed at almost any cost.
Directed and written by Max McGillivray, this propulsive short drama has the compelling power that comes from having a complex, driven character at its heart, with a story brought to life with rough-hewn and dynamic visuals, taut performances and a sure-handed sense of dramatic impact. Brendan is a focused, even obsessive athlete, aiming for greatness but mired in a milieu of mediocrity, and as he strives and powers toward his goal, the narrative becomes a darkly explosive study of an underdog’s obsession and ambition in the hothouse world of backyard wrestling.
Opening with Brendan’s appeal for a spot at an upcoming bout, we then shift to his job washing cars at the lot, where he turns down a job to sell cars because he doesn’t want to compromise his training. The visuals frame him in slightly askew ways at times, seating him uneasily in his world. It also gives us a sense of his isolated singularity, alienated from the larger world with his focus and even from the professional world, where he’s looked down upon as a “yarder.” Even as his friend Skinny moves on from their hobby, Brendan appears stuck and perhaps delusional.
The storytelling is richly well-developed, building Brendan’s world and character. But as we watch his story play out, Brendan’s obsessiveness, as well as an encroaching sense of desperation, often turns possibilities into self-sabotage. He could be good at selling cars, but the dangling carrot of a wrestling opportunity causes him to burn his bridges at the job in spectacular fashion. Actor Justin McEneny’s intense performance as Brendan gets at the intensity and passion of his focus, expressed admirably in his hard work but more problematically as a lack of regard for anything else. When he enters the ring of his big opportunity, he thinks he has nothing more to lose — but he might just be proven wrong.
Like many great sports dramas, CHOKE HOLD winnows down to one final event, with high stakes and emotion intertwined together into a maelstrom of almost operatic drama and spectacle. Shot with a muscularity that captures the grind and punishing impact of each hold and move, the match also propels Brendan into his strongest choice as a character — one final bet on himself and a desperate need to make it matter if it’s his last. By the film’s gripping end, with its evocative final image, we’re not sure if the conclusion is a good or bad thing for Brendan’s future, leaving him as focused and relentless as ever.
About the Author
Paul Stuart A gamer for over 30 years, Paul Stuart has an unhealthy obsession with Assassins Creed, God of War, also sport and virtual reality titles. In his spare time, he teaches Muay Thai kickboxing, runs WrestlingInFlorida.com, and drives his toddler crazy.
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