Welcome to Fight Club!

Rating: 10/10 (27 September 2017)

"Fight Club" (1999) Review By Christopher Tran
"Welcome to Fight Club. 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!" At least that's what Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, exclaimed when he first established the so-called "club" in the basement of a bar. Never could he have imagined such a simple rule could lead to the expansion of the club to simply multiply overnight. He along with the Narrator, played by Edward Norton, create a dynamic duo that could influence the lives of many in the film which eventually led to the many emotional and intense scenes.
Originally a novel published by Chuck Palahniuk in 1996, the book would become a movie that would intrigue the thoughts of others into believing such a reality could exist in the U.S. at the time. While the time period for the film isn't specifically stated, it can be deduced to take place around the mid-90s. Multiple events throughout the film from explosions, riots, vandalism, to multiple personalities and various psychological disorders, make the film seem so realistic yet impossible for society at the time. The films realism approach with these multiple chaotic events gives it the dark noir vibe that most of David Fincher's, the director for this film, films take and also the reason he receives so much criticism from those who watch his films. This "dark noir" is depicted with multiple sexual scenes as well as vandalism and malicious activities centered around a crime driven film. The amount of suspense from the plot as well as the characters mixed personalities creates such an amazing film.
Going to the characters, just by comparison the Narrator and Tyler Durden are strong opposites. Yet, they somehow create a bond that allows them to create their own society. A society where one looks up to the other, wanting to be like him, almost like the average movie duo where one is obedient to the other while the other has the more vocal personnel. What makes this film great is how the interactions between these two characters evolve, deconstructs and soon implodes under the realization of the Narrator and his dual personality is what creates the amount of tension evident in the film.
The role of Marla Singer in the plot also has its impacts. An obstacle to the narrator becomes the romantic and sexual motivations for Tyler Durden's temporary relief. Despite what a nuisance she appears to be to the narrator by being the one mental block that interrupted his support group relief, she appears to be the main reason for the narrator to keep his mind straight especially during the time when he knows she would be in grave danger. Her psychological problems, as well as drug abuse, in the beginning, were there mainly to express the darkness of the crime central film and how some people at the time experienced some problems that she had to endure or bestowed upon herself.
Diving into this film seems great, plot and all. A story that revolves around chaos, destruction, and conflict. A psychological game that plays not only with the viewers of the film but also with the other characters in the film that play along with the "game" with the addition of the double personalities. A love triangle that appears strange yet somehow begins to make more sense as the film plays out. And most of all the fight club that started it all, acting as both the psychotherapy and the personality development the story needed. This movie has it all, a must see!