Fight Club
If you have never watched Fight Club, be warned, there be spoilers here...
Fight Club. Now, I bet you are all wondering what a cult film blogger is talking about Fight Club for. Don’t worry, I thought the same. After all, this is one of my favourite movies of all time. Heck, I went to a screening of it for my birthday. I have never met anyone who hasn’t watched this film nor have I never met anyone who doesn’t love this movie. I mean, come on, Fight Club! Everyone knows it, it is referenced in pulp culture all the time and is beloved by all. And yet as popular as it is today, it never started off that way. In fact, Fight Club caused controversy, critical uproar and had failed to bring in the money for 20th Century Fox. When it comes to the initial release, Fight Club was a dud.
It wasn’t until people started realising that it cinematic gold that the world started paying attention to Tyler Durden...
Based on a Chuck Palahnuik novel of the same name, Fight Club follows the world of an unnamed narrator who is sick of his life. His job is stale, he has insomnia and his love life is pretty much zero. To get any kind of human fix, he frequents support groups in order to cry and sleep. However on a business trip, he ends up meeting the enigmatic, sexy and free Tyler Durden. Together, the two form an underground fight club where men beat each other up for kicks. Trying to set himself free and also free the lives of others like him, our narrator soon finds out that things aren’t always what they seem.
Fight Club is a cinematic punch in the face. Literally. It basically grabs you by the balls (or ovaries) and seizes to let go until it has pump every last drop of adrenaline out of you. Such a film about fighting, homeland terrorism, explosions and more was bound to cause controversy and Fight Club was unapologetic. David Fincher really adds his dark and dank tones to Fight Club and drags you into a world of desolate despair all the while kicking you in the teeth with philosophy. And you’ll love it. Because it makes no excuses, it is sweat and muscle with a brain. Critics, however, bemoaned the over excessive use of violence and that groaning became much loudly than those singing praise. Unfortunately, they missed the point. While there is countless moments of blood and gore, it isn’t unnecessary. In fact, it is vital with Fight Club as it highlights the anguish of thirty something men feeling disappointed with life, needing a release.
A great thing about Fight Club is its total awareness of the audience. Helping you lose yourself in the story, are ridiculously unreliable narrator addresses viewers directly as well as narrating. Fincher uses this to a great advantage; we follow our narrator through his story, the world through his eyes and the changes he is becoming. And then, like our character, the carpet is pulled from underneath our feet as we find out that the narrator and Tyler Durden are the same person. Rapidly changing the movie, it is a shock that alters our perception of the whole story and knocks us for six. Fincher implements this really well and chops, changes and navigates a screenplay. He also keeps the homoerotic overtones that were in the movie to keep you from sussing out that they are one. Yet if you watch it back, you’ll be able to spot hints and clues to this dramatic end; Fight Club is never ending with the Easter eggs.
Fight Club has everything from amazing cinematography to stellar acting from Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. With the announcement of a Fight Club graphic novel coming soon, it will be great to bring a new generation to the movie. Because with all the consumer chains, the economy, the riots and the reality T.V. Fight Club is still a relevant movie. I’m not saying it will inspire people to start underground clubs themselves but what I will say is that will make people take charge of their lives if they are truly unhappy.
And maybe, make soap.
TTFN
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