Fight Club Review

Rating: 8/10 (9 December 2008)

Fight Club (1999) directed by David Fincher and based on the book by Chuck Palanhiuk, contains no nonsense rules which Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden delivers with serious conviction, "The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club." However, you don't learn these until later in the movie. Instead, you're first greeted by Edward Norton's monotonous voice, which as the movie progresses becomes even more depressing yet funny at the same time. "I am Jack's smirking revenge." "I am Jack's complete lack of surprise." Norton's character utilizes these sayings at random times throughout the movie and makes himself appear even more deranged and dark.
Norton plays a nameless insomniac who seeks solace and fulfillment in his life by attending random support groups for illnesses he does not have and by filling his apartment with useless IKEA furniture. You start to feel sorry for his characters pathetic existence until he meets new people who give his life a sort of twisted meaning. First, is Marla Singer played by Helena Bonham Carter, a fellow "tourist" of support groups who has some serious mental and emotional issues. Second is Tyler Durden (Pitt). Tyler is everything Norton wishes he could be, fearless and provocative. He can read Norton's character like a book and spits out ideas about anti-consumerism. These two pair up and form an underground fight club where dissatisfied men go to beat each other up in order to regain their masculinity and ultimately their freedom in life. The fights are not about winning, they serve as a device to men to prove to themselves that they can take a hit. The fight scenes can become very bloody and gruesome, making this the ultimate guy movie. The plot takes a turn after this and the original fight club transforms into something much more sinister and rebellious, thanks to Tyler's secret "Project Mayhem". The movie ends with a final conflict between Norton's character and Tyler. This reveals just how twisted Norton's personality had become, just before showing his revelation of change.
The entire movie is shot in dim light, making some of the setting obscured. We do get a good view of Tyler's house, which is a dilapidated place where not even rats would dare venture. This reflects Tyler's scorn of material objects and his hippie-like attitude. Most of the camera angles are shot at middle range, where we can see the upper half of the actor's bodies, but during the fight scenes the camera pans around in order to view the fight better and also to catch the reactions of the other fight club members. Some exceptions are when Norton's character is lying awake at night; the camera is normally above him, so we can see his whole body and therefore his struggle with insomnia. The first shot in the movie was excellently crafted, a shot of Norton struggling to speak with a gun in his mouth, to give a glimpse of that final confrontation between Pitt and Norton's characters. Overall the director, David Fincher, does not focus so much on the setting or costumes (excluding Tyler, who wears eccentric clothes like red leather pants and fur coats) but rather on the characters actions and especially Norton's wonderfully sardonic narration that will keep you chuckling throughout this 4 star movie.