First Rule of Fight Club is...Watch the Film!

Rating: 9/10 (6 October 2015)

Fight Club (1999): Dir: David Fincher / Cast: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meatloaf, Jared Leto: Tremendous statement about attitude towards violence in our society. It stars Edward Norton who hates his job and suffers from insomnia. He attends support groups where he encounters misfit Marla as well as a heavy set individual described as having one testicle. On a plane he meets the mysterious Tyler Durden who manufactures soap, which he uses to make bombs. Violence is their common lust as they invite bystanders into their fight club. Clever and stylish with an ending where facing one's issues takes on a new form. David Fincher's films often involve traumatic events to accept life as seen in his Seven and The Game. Norton is placed between reason and personal detachment. Brad Pitt mixes insane authority with maddening humour. Their concluding showdown is brilliantly filmed but it raises more questions than answers. Helena Bonham Carter plays Marla who has suicidal tendencies and psychotic sexual conquests. Meatloaf plays a brute at a help group who joins the fight club but despite his intensity he fails to understand the consequences of this decision. Jared Leto plays Angel Face, a fellow member whom Norton views as competition for Durden's favor. Extremely violent yet exhilarating social commentary of violence, trauma and mental stability. Score: 9 / 10