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Note: The article contains spoilers about the movie.

Chokehold is the latest feature film produced by the director-writer duo Onur Saylak and Hakan Günday, which competed as a National Competition film at the 42nd Istanbul Film Festival and was released on Netflix on April 21st. As is known, they have previously produced two series, Persona and Wild Abandon, as well as their first short films, the Jungle, and their first feature film adaptation of Günday’s book, More.

Chokehold can be described as a psychological thriller movie that is not commonly seen in Turkish cinema, produced by the duo. The movie follows the story of a couple from Istanbul, Yalın and Beyza, who move to a village in Assos to start a new life. However, from the first day, the villagers approach Yalın in a negative and threatening manner. Soon, the intensity of these reactions rises rapidly, and one day Yalın is attacked by a young man. With this attack, Yalın’s true identity will be revealed, and a secret war will begin between him and the villagers.

At first, we see Beyza and Yalın as a loving couple who have moved to another place. However, from beginning to end, there is an eerie atmosphere of suspense and unease throughout the movie. Everyone has a hatred for the main character Yalın, which we will learn later on, but we do not know why at first. Although Yalın initially appears as a character who has just arrived in the city and is not familiar with the area, everyone there knows him in some way.

One day, while Beyza is watching television, we learn that Yalın was recently arrested for embezzlement but was later released on bail. We also learn that others were also arrested, and Yalın took advantage of effective repentance by providing their names. Thus, we understand the reason for Yalın’s unwelcoming reception in Assos.

Yalın is traumatized by these events and has not yet recovered from what he experienced. Beyza tries to comfort him and stand by his side. Whenever Yalın encounters anyone in Assos, he somehow intimidates them, because many people trusted him and invested money with him, but they lost everything they had due to the lawsuit he was involved in. Therefore, everyone holds a grudge against him. When Yalın and their newly acquainted friends went to a shop to buy souvenirs, Cevdet, who runs the shop, speaks to Yalın in a disturbing way and tries to kill him. After struggling, Yalın kills Cevdet. The character has already experienced a certain level of anxiety and fear, but this time, he has lived it to the bone. He has been dragged into delusions and paranoia. He even started practicing with a knife to protect himself from possible attacks.

Meanwhile, there are scenes in the movie that exaggerate and where the dose of black humor is too high. It can be said that scenes like murders that happen with potential killers appearing everywhere and with a piece playing during an open-air concert undermine the credibility of the film. Towards the end of the movie, we see that Yalın has really embezzled the money. He makes plans to escape from Assos to Lesvos and tells Beyza to prepare. Then a reckoning begins between Beyza and Yalın. Through this reckoning, we learn that Beyza is the reason why Yalın went to jail. After a big argument between them, we see Yalın kill Beyza, being angry but at the same time, cool-headed, with a hammer in his hand.

In the final scene of the movie, characters like the gendarmerie, the market owner, and the coffee shop owner, who have threatened Yalın in various ways throughout the movie, make peace with him by putting the money Yalın used to threaten them in a cuss box and praising him. It is clear that this scene was designed as a panorama and allegory of Turkey, along with political references. It can be said that the movie presents a criticism of society while using a sarcastic tone.

The screenwriter of the film, Hakan Günday, being a writer himself, didn’t neglect to use various references throughout the movie. For example, just like the use of anagrams in the name of the main character (Ahad) in the movie “More” (meaning “Daha” in Turkish), which is referenced in this movie, we also see the word “Yalın” written on a basket in the movie, but after a while, the letters “ı” and “a” are switched, and it becomes “Yılan” (meaning “snake” in Turkish). Metaphors related to the hunter-prey relationship, the variability of who is the hunter and who is the prey, the instinct to survive, and becoming a victim are also used in the film. The cactus that Yalın plants in their garden at the beginning of the movie and the transformation of his character into a cold-blooded serial killer who burns those who touch him, just like the cactus, can also be given as an example of these metaphors. However, when it comes to characterization, it can be said that Chokehold is a film that focuses heavily on Yalın’s character, and the other characters are not written in depth. In fact, as viewers, we don’t have a clear idea about their motivations and effects.

When it comes to the cinematography of the movie, it can be said that Feza Çaldıran, the cinematographer who worked together with Onur Saylak in his other works, did a good job. Especially as we have seen in the Persona and Wild Abandon, attempts were made to establish empathy with the characters by positioning their faces in the middle or on one side of the frame. It can also be said that visual compositions were used in the movie in the style of paintings. While the sound design is also disturbing for the audience, there are places where the use of music seems meaningless. It is possible to say that Ali Aga, the editor who worked together with Saylak in his other works, did a good job, especially in scenes that dissolve into each other, which we see as main examples in the Godfather trilogy.

Regarding the acting in the movie, it can be said that Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ was successful in reflecting Yalın’s distress and fear from the beginning to the end of the movie with both his image and acting. Funda Eryiğit and the other actors did their best to portray the characters and stay true to the script.

Although the title of the movie may sound a bit strange, director Onur Saylak explained the reason behind it in a short statement to Altyazı Cinema Magazine: “Chokehold depicts a situation where people are suffocating and can do anything to take a breath due to the conditions they are in and the decisions they make. First of all, people were suffocated by the economic crisis. Then, when it was revealed that Yalın, who they had placed their hopes on, was a fraud, people were left even more breathless. In every revenge action taken against Yalın, either Yalın or the people suffocated. As a result of all these suffocations, nobody could breathe and the air even became stifling in one of the cleanest air regions in the world. Ultimately, Chokehold portrays people who have survived but lost their humanity despite not being able to breathe.”

According to initial impressions, Chokehold seems to have divided the audience. As the level of tension increases, it becomes more interesting but occasionally drifts away from reality. It is possible to say that the movie, which also has some faulty parts until the final scene, somewhat recovers in the ending.

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