Fight Club

Fight Club

Starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf

Directed by David Fincher

What is the movie about?
The Narrator (Edward Norton) is a traveling automobile recall specialist who suffers from insomnia, and in hopes of curing it he attends a support group for testicular cancer patients, where he is able to fully release his emotions and lead to him being able to sleep again.  He attends different support groups until he sees Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), another imposter who bounces from different support groups.  He becomes infuriated and his insomnia returns, and they agree to go to different support groups.

On an airplane he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a soap salesman with a carefree attitude toward life, and the Narrator is drawn to him.  When his home is destroyed, the Narrator goes to live with Tyler before getting involved in a fist fight outside a bar.  As they fight another night, they draw the attention of different men, and they form a Fight Club where men can fight recreationally. 

Soon events begin to spiral out of control, and what the Narrator once thought was a friendly night of fighting soon turns into anarchy, as Tyler seems determined to build up an army to go against the capitalist society they live in.

Who is involved in the movie?
Edward Norton plays the Narrator, a man deeply troubled who wants to find some sort of peace and stability in his life, finding he can only really let loose of his emotions at different support groups.  He's a highly intellectual man who is also plagued by his intelligence, and Norton plays the character to pitch-perfect perfection.
Brad Pitt plays Tyler Durden, a man who lives by no one's rules and raves against the capitalist society they live in, especially voicing his anger at consumerism.  Pitt also plays his role perfectly, blending dark humor and witty banter with shades of psychotic episodes that make for a very complex character.
Helena Bonham Carter plays Marla Singer, a deeply troubled woman who is found floating from support group to support group the same way the Narrator does.  She is horribly flawed and deeply emotional, and just like Norton and Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter gives a commanding performance.
David Fincher directed the film, based off a book written by Chuck Palahniuk, and much like his other works (especially "Seven" and "The Game"), Fincher brilliantly blends realism and fantasy, producing a top-notch psychological thriller.

Why should you see this movie?
I could make a shorter list as to why you should NOT see this movie, because there is no reason you should not see this cinematic masterpiece, this perfect piece of cinema that hits on all cylinders and takes you for a wild ride from start to finish you won't soon forget.

"Fight Club" works on so many levels, much more than just a pure man's movie about men fighting.  In fact, that's one of the smallest aspects of the film, as it tells a deeper story of the human psyche, the duality of nature, the struggle of the oppressed and the search for ultimate meaning.

At the core heart of the film we have two men: The Narrator (who is never given an actual name, since he goes by several pseudonyms at different support group meetings) and Tyler Durden.  As The Narrator, Edward Norton represents Joe Everyman - which could be a reason why he never has an official name - as he struggles with his lot in life.  He's confined himself to having a cozy job, a cozy home with cozy furnishings an a cozy lifestyle.  Yet this is not enough, as he struggles with insomnia for months, as his inner being yearns for something more.  He tries to find this in different support groups and he is able to freely express himself (even as he himself is lying to those around him), and it's through that he is able to finally sleep.  Until he meets another imposter, which brings about the insomnia again and leads to his old sad ways, until one fateful night on an airplane when he meets...

Tyler Durden, the exact opposite of the Narrator.  Tyler is adventurous, spontaneous, highly intelligent and witty, and deeply profound.  He teaches the Narrator about the true importance of life, and it's not about having a cozy job, a cozy home with cozy furnishings and a cozy lifestyle.  Even he says it himself, "you're not your job.  You're not how much money you have in the bank.  You're not the car you drive.  You're not the contents of your wallet.  You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."  It's about experiencing life with all it has to offer, and not caring about the consequences.  Brad Pitt gives his career defining role here, giving a profound, powerful performance that's echoed through the years and is still hailed as one of his best performances to date.

When it comes to the actual Fight Club, it's not something done for money (there's no betting done), and there's no animosity toward those fighting.  In an odd way, it's a cathartic release for the men, who all work the menial jobs that the higher ups would never touch.  As Tyler beautifully stated, "we cook your meals, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances, we guard you while you sleep."  These men are the outcasts of society, and they're the ones drawn to the Narrator and Tyler's Fight Club, so much so it becomes almost a religion to them, and Tyler is their god.  Together they set to overthrow the capitalist society they've become slaves to, and just with any type of anarchy, there's a strong price to pay.

Another theme the film connects to is the search for meaning.  The Narrator sets out to find his true meaning in life, the thing that will give him true peace and allow him to finally rest.  He can't find that in anything else, but when he starts Fight Club with Tyler, he feels like he's finally connecting to something more than just himself.  Unfortunately, it becomes shattered when the group decides to become anarchists, but for a few fleeting moments the Narrator found a purpose in life.

There's a reason why the film is listed in several critics top lists, found in edition after edition of "1001 Movies to See Before You Die," and why quotes like "the first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club" is mentioned even today, over seventeen years after its release.  It's a movie that not only withstands the test of time, but transcends time.  It was a fantastic piece of cinema before its time, with then-never-before-seen effects and cinematography, giving a deeply profound message told brilliantly in its three main lead actors who obviously give it their all in once-of-a-lifetime performances.  It's a purely beautiful - if not darkly beautiful - masterwork comparable to Da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Needless to say, the film is in a class of its own.


When should you see this movie?
If you have never seen this movie yet, what are you waiting for?  If you've seen it before, why haven't you seen it again?

Where does the movie fall on the grading scale?
A+...but even that's too low for such a masterpiece.