An awful bore

Rating: 1/10 (31 January 2002)

I really didn't enjoy this film at all & I fall into the target group (male 20-30). 2/10 I'd give this.
There seems a belief too that anyone who doesn't enjoy it is either thick, against violence or especially 'doesn't get the message behind it'. Well, none of those apply to me.
In this flawed film, I understand that it was any of: a)a group of young men rebelling against a Borgeousie consumerism society. b)one man seeing how he is totally dissatisfied with life and how his mind tries to change things or c)people stopping to watch Cornelius fight himself because voyeurism is human nature the film makes a deliberate attempt to make the viewer feel guilty for being a voyeur. (I'll come to that later)
You can take your pick really, whatever way, I still find it crap. Any film (Shawshank Redmeption excepted) which concerns 'one mans' anything, generally creates no emotion in me other than boredom. The whole tagline to the film makes me want to puke: "one 30 year old man's journey of self-discovery."
So what? Are we supposed to sympathise with Norton because of this? I'm sorry but I have sympathy in films with people dying, or who's family have been killed. John Hurt triumphing over cancer in Champions, Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan, thousands of others. Even Norton himself actually in the brilliant American History X. In the 2nd half, I sympathise with him for the life he has found himself with.
But in this (and I find myself saying the same as I did with the equally awful American Beauty) Just because some blokes fed up & having a midlife crisis we're supposed to feel for him. Oh diddums. The only film where this premise has worked brilliantly is 'It's a Wonderful Life' with James Stewart. He was in crisis (and justifyably too) but never resorted to any of the levels stooped to here.
(That might seem a weak point, but It's just come to me & I can't put my finger on exactly why Wonderful Life is so far superior to Fight Club in tackling a midlife crisis, but they are as far extreme as you can get)

I'd also question whether we're all voyers? For every moron that slows down on a motorway to look at an accident on the other side, there's a 100 or so that can't believe the stupidity of it.
There are countless flaws too. The scene prior to the car crash wouldn't have worked? Who was Norton talking to? with the passengers there? Where did he acquire his knowledge of soap from? Would people have watched 1 bloke fighting himself? and much more too. Ok, maybe one or 2 of those have answers but I couldn't find them.
I think to really enjoy this film, you have to have clicked or empathised with the main character, and if you did, I feel a bit sorry for you. It would however account for the popularity of such things as marriage guidance councillors, drugs, footballers agents, even to a degree religion (but only when it becomes absolutely fanatical & life revolves around it).

Maybe it's just me & I'm fortunate but so many people seem unable to get through the little problems that life throws up on their own & without help of any kind anymore, like inventing a friend for one thing.
I know plenty of people who like this, intelligent some of them, so I've no problem with people who enjoy 'Arty & deep' films with psychological meaning to them. I just don't. But not through failing to understand them, Just merely through not connecting with characters who suffer problems like a 'mid-life crisis for non deserving reasons'.
On top of all of that, it was a very slow film too.