Onur Saylak’s Chokehold (Boga Boga) has the ability to mount tension with every frame. Something sinister (oftentimes unseen) is closing in on lead character Yalin (Kivanç Tatlitug) as he retreats to the Turkish countryside with his wife. He was involved in a huge financial fraud in Istanbul, where his partners and he were responsible for the loss of people’s money. Owing to a deal with the District Attorney, Yalin serves a mere ten days in prison. He moves to his unassuming home village by the coast, hoping to start over. But that’s the thing about second chances: they are few and far between. The man singlehandedly wiped out the investments of innumerable hardworking and honest people. TV channels brand him an unscrupulous criminal. There is no way of blending in, so to speak. The frosty response in his hometown is apparent from the very beginning. The local grocer’s son makes small talk as Yalin picks up supplies. As soon as the former’s elderly father enters, the man is told that the shop isn’t open yet. Yalin gets strange looks as he rides into town on his SUV. Things take a turn for the worse when he stops by an establishment selling antiques. Meanwhile, his wife Beyza (Funda Eryigit) is kept in the dark about Yalin’s hostile encounters. Even the local police head claims to have lost much of his money in the scam. And while he admits that he will not cause Yalin harm, he does make it a point to mention that he will not look for the person bent on killing him. As the environment starts closing in on Yalin, he receives a basket with the head of a snake, with his name carved onto its lid.
Director – Onur Saylak
Cast – Kivanç Tatlitug, Funda Eryigit, Gürgen Öz, Kerem Arslanoglu, Müge Bayramoglu
Streaming On – Netflix
Between the moments of violence, there is a build-up witnessed predominantly on Yalin’s face that works in favour of the film. The uncomfortable stillness, as we see the wheels turning in the mind of the lead character, is cause for anxiety. His fear reaches such levels that the audience may find it difficult to tell truth from hallucination. Chokehold starts off in a manner of a standard thriller but it is hard to predict. Everyone is out to seek revenge for the money they’ve been cheated of and the mockery of justice at play. And yet, it isn’t easy to tell which way the story is headed. Beyza’s character is another strange reveal. For 90 per cent, it’s all about Yalin and his embezzlement scheme and his shady dealing with the law, until Beyza makes a proper appearance.
The collective anger of the people is palpable. And the fact that Yalin chooses to lie low in his childhood village, no less, is telling. The siphoning of millions, apart, it is the meting out of justice (or the lack thereof) that is cause for all the rage. The initial conversation with the local police head reveals as much. How did he manage to cheat so many people, get caught, and still serve almost zero jail time? That is the primary question. The film moves slowly, taking its time to build intrigue and tension. It is in the characters we must rely on to see the narrative to its rightful conclusion. Despite overt elements of violence, there is an understatement to the story that is hard to put a finger on. It sure isn’t a masterpiece but its enveloping mood succeeds in making it rather watchable.
Chokehold’s writing, courtesy Hakan Gunday, does a fine job to sketch Yalin in shades of grey. There are instances during the plot when I wondered if he was truly attempting to repent, with the circumstances being well and truly against him. You’re kept guessing as to his real motivations. Once in his home village, is he merely reacting as a means of self-defence? This characterisation tightrope is given life through Kivanç Tatlitug’s anxiety-inducing performance. The supporting characters, beginning with Beyza, impress. They’re all living, breathing human beings of the everyday. The central message of the film is that you can’t really shut out the misdeeds of your past. He may have the law in his pocket and still some wealth to get by comfortably, but the town’s resentment isn’t something that has a price attached to it. Yalin’s lawyer tells him that he must lay low until the case goes to trial, that even skipping a yellow light (not even a red one) is a definite no-no. But that’s the thing about the great leveller called life. You may run to the far corners to escape your demons only to find them lying in wait at your door. This stark realisation of comeuppance is a theme that catches on pretty quickly in Chokehold.
#effective #characterdriven #anxietyinducing #thriller #Cinema #express
