Beautiful and Brutal

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2013)

Known for its intense, brutal violence and ideological themes, Fight Club is considered by many one of the greatest films of the last two decades. With it's great narrative, quirky humour and compelling characters it is truly a film to enjoy. It is based on the novel by the same name by Chuck Palahniuk and is directed by David Fincher.
Edward Norton portrays the film's protagonist. Norton's nameless character - which is only referred to as "The Narrator" - is stuck at a dead-end job living in his small apartment full of Ikea-junk. He's working at a car company where he spends his days filling out forms, making copies, drinking coffee and getting yelled at. After a long day at the office he comes home to his Ikea-infested two-room apartment, watches TV, eats his microwave-heated dinner and goes to bed. The narrator describes his life and his view of the world through dialogue where he uses sharp satire and direct social criticism.
The narrator is a depressed social outcast that needs something – or someone - to get his life going. He also suffers from insomnia, which doesn't make his life any more manageable. He eventually finds a rather odd ailment for his illness. He attends a support group for men who have suffered testicular cancer. This quickly becomes an addiction. He finds himself attending to several different groups a week and being unable to sleep without them. He does this undisturbed for some time until he meets a woman by the name of Marla Singer. Marla, played by Helena Bonham Carter, is a so-called "tourist"; a person - who just likes the main character - attends self-help and therapy groups to make herself feel better. Knowing that there is another faker present he fails to open himself up emotionally. As a result of this the narrator fails to sleep once again.
He eventually finds himself on a business flight sitting next to Tyler Durden. Portrayed by Brad Pitt, Tyler Durden is a genuine menace. Tyler shows strong disregard against society and the materialistic way of life of the western civilization. He believes that in order to truly be free you first have to lose everything. He is also an avid soap-maker. Through a various turn of events the Narrator and Tyler starts to organize a weekly fight club for men. More and more people hear about this and the club quickly expands. But as the fight club grows and becomes more organized the narrator starts to ask himself new questions: what exactly is happening around him and is there more to Tyler Durden than he is aware of?
David Fincher has made a number of great films throughout his career (Se7ven, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Fight Club is no exception. He has done an excellent job transferring the book to the silver screen and has gained much admiration for it. Fincher's use of violence in the film is not something to shy away from. The brutal and graphic fight scenes were strongly criticized when it first came out in 1999. Not unlike Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange from 1971, it was condemned by many as a film that glorifies violence. In many ways these two movies are not very different. The use of violence and the human psyche is an on-going theme throughout both films.
But the movie is not all about physical fighting. The film also focuses on emotional, mental and ideological fighting. It's about finding yourself and finding out what you really want to do with your life. There are a lot of factors that makes this film great; it is funny, it's brutal, and it's inspirational. It makes you question your own existence and what you are really supposed to do.
Brad Pitt does an exceptionally good role as Tyler Durden, which is without a doubt one of his greatest performances to date. He is mesmerizing, and he really does a believable role as the charismatic and revolutionary sociopath. Along with Pitt is Edward Norton, who does an excellent job as the gloomy and often confused narrator. Elena Bonham Carter also does an avid and amusing role as the suicidal Marla Singer. The leading actors work really well together and it is plain to see that they have a lot of good chemistry throughout the film. Meat Loaf also plays a refreshing and fun part as the testicular cancer-victim and former bodybuilder Bob.
Fight Club is a truly great film with a social message that many will sit and ponder over. The film combines violence, social criticism, masculinity, human relations and psychology in a mix that is sure to make an impression. It is without a doubt one of the most noteworthy films that has been made the last couple of decades. It is a film that many will enjoy, but some may occasionally cringe at some of its scenes. But no matter how you feel about this film you must not forget the first (and the s