‘Choke Hold’ a realistic film on domestic violence

“It’s a great film,” declared Minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange of Choke Hold after she watched the movie’s Jamaican premiere recently at Carib cinema in Cross Roads.

Actually, it’s not, but her overstatement is understandable. The movie is emotionally gripping, telling an, unfortunately, universally experienced tale of domestic abuse, and doing so through actors who just radiate authenticity. Additionally, having both culture and gender affairs in her portfolio, Grange probably deals with the issue daily and would have a special empathy for victims.

Addressing the writer, director and producer, Joel Ayuk, the minister continued, “You have interpreted and translated a story that affects all of us.” She went on to urge the audience not to keep silent when they become aware of domestic violence taking place around them, but to “take a stand” against it.

In the interview session after the screening, the minister was followed by Sherando Ferril, the lead actress, who plays the domestic abuse victim in the film. She said that her character, Victoria, was quite unlike her own, and she had to do lots of research to nail down her personality. This included talking to a therapist.

Her research paid off; you forget you’re watching a movie and start to talk back to her – perhaps only mentally, though some in the audience expressed their concern audibly. You are sorry for her when she’s brutalised by her husband, Mike (Nigerian actor Enyinna Nwigwe), and angry with her when she continually accepts his apologies and returns to his arms. Like her friends, Sophia (Nigerian-American actress Oremey Kareem) and her husband, Tom (American actor Simeon Henderson), you get frustrated with Victoria’s apparently willful blindness.

Mike and Tom are policemen and in the scenes when we see them on duty, it is clear that Mike has not just anger management problems, but control issues. He feels he must boss people around. So, he wants Victoria to stay at home and looks after the house and their child, Candace (Aliyah, a young local actress).

Ayuk as writer gives us the traditional reason for Mike’s tyrannical behaviour: he had an abusive father. And there is the obligatory scene in which a therapist explains, as the song says, that “children live what they learn”.

One member of the audience said she found that scene very useful, which suggests that Minister Grange was right when she said that the film could be “a great tool” for use against domestic violence. She also said, without explaining how, that she would like to “maximise the effect” of the film. That would have pleased Ayuk, who, according to his publicity material, wrote the screenplay. for this first full-length feature film, as “a testament to his commitment to tackling important social issues”.

Shot in St Martin, the island’s first full-length movie repeatedly contrasts the serene beauty of the island with the turmoil in the hearts and minds of the characters. It is based on true stories, Ayuk said, and had its premiere in the island on November 25, the International Day Against Violence Against Women and Children.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com