Fincher at his best

Rating: 8/10 (30 October 1999)

Going in to this film I had no real idea what to expect of this movie as I purposely avoided reading all reviews of the movie where the plot was revealed or discussed. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw.
This is not a film with excessive violence without context as some critics would like to have us believe. Among other things the film makes a none too subtle comment about the fabric that make up our human existence and the fact that sometimes pain is the only aspect of life that seems real to any of us.
Instead of condoning the behaviours in the film the director (in what is perhaps Fincher's best work) continually emphasizes the relationship between what the characters are feeling and what the characters are doing. We see vividly the conflict within Edward Norton's character as the film progresses and we are effectively drawn into the movie taking each turn with him.
The pacing of the movie is maintained superbly throughout and together with the direction, cinematography, and dialogue serve to create a movie packed with enough surprise to entice any true movie fan.
The acting throughout is excellent with excellent performances by Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Meatloaf. All of the actors turn in performances worthy of comparison to their best work to date.
I truly hope that the greatness of this movie is not sullied by over analysis of it's violent content (Natural Born Killers certainly was) as it reaches into far deeper realms than the surface would immediately suggest.
Rating: A