CHOKED UP | Omeleto

A politician's career derails when a live interview goes awry.
CHOKED UP is used with permission from Jill Worsley. Learn more at worzel.co.uk.
Fiona Lacey is a British minister for the environment who is giving a high-stakes, career-defining interview. Prepping for it is highly stressful, with Fiona getting conflicting perspectives from boomers, zoomers, her staff and even her Gen Z son, who doesn't even want to be there.
But during the live interview, she gets into a coughing fit, which finds her taking a cough drop on air. This sets off a maelstrom of online commentary and memes -- all of which put Fiona and her future in politics into the spotlight in a very uncomfortable way.
Directed and written by Jill Worsley, this acerbic, intelligently crafted short comedy is less about actual political issues than the nature of contemporary online and social media discourse as it intersects with any issue. Through clever, smart writing and directing, briskly paced editing and sharp performances, it captures the unique "butterfly effect" of how one incident can ignite a swirl of noise, which carries away any hope of a substantial discussion far from the intended target.
The deft writing quickly sets up the situation of Fiona's work, the high stakes and care she puts into it, the flurry of advice about the optics and her slight nagging cough. But the storytelling quickly reveals its light yet satirical hand when Fiona's cough live and onscreen unleashes a hurricane of online commentary. The film has fun with the range of responses that Fiona's cough sparks, each one more absurd than the next. It makes fun of both sides of the aisle, so to speak, but more importantly, it captures the broader media landscape as one driven by outrage, "hot takes" and attention-seeking, no matter what the stance or topic is.
In the center of the chaos is actor Maxine Peake's excellent performance as Fiona, which is always pitch-perfect and truthful, no matter what is being thrown at Fiona. Peake plays Fiona with competence and earnestness, which get befuddled at first at the absurdity thrown at her. But Fiona becomes increasingly indignant as her viral moments spin out of control, and as she tries to respond, the clunkiness of her repair efforts derail her reputation and career. At first, Fiona and her team try to take on the torrent of critics on their terms, responding to various incidents and charges leveled at her, which become increasingly ludicrous. But eventually, Fiona gets fed up enough to speak her truth to power, cutting through the noise to get to the heart of what matters to her.
Fans of sharp political satire like VEEP, IN THE SOUP or even older films like NETWORK will find much to enjoy in the smart and entertaining CHOKING UP. And true to its nature as a satire, it stays committed to the joke to the end. Just when you think Fiona has triumphed against all the haters online with a stirring moment of truth and conviction, the final joke's on her -- because the ultimate power move is to remove the player from the game altogether.