I am Jack's feeling of delight after watching Fight Club !!!!!

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2014)

Fight Club is one of those films that will not leave your thoughts hours and maybe even days after you've watched it. The feeling that you get after watching this movie is similar to being punched repeatedly and relentlessly for its entire 140 minutes length. David Fincher masterfully managed to create a perfect balance which makes this film an immensely visceral as well as a deeply intellectual watch.
The main theme of Fight Club is freedom, or the lack of it. The script which is based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk leaves no stone unturned and adopts an unapologetic approach to convey its message about how people in society are living trapped, compromised and unfulfilling lives and following the customs and norms which are generally considered "normal". The common human being is just a pathetic consumer with no identity and no personality. He is just satisfied with his material possessions and has no hesitations in allowing himself to be judged and trapped by society. The unnamed main character played by Edward Norton is one such character. He is a very average citizen with nothing to look forward to in his life. He has a boring job, no prospects and he is an insomniac. His strategy to temporarily escape the mundane nature of his life is attending self help groups in the evening. But suddenly one day, he meets a suave, sharp and stylish man named Tyler Durden(Brad Pitt) and his life changes completely. I think keeping Norton's character unnamed was brilliant as it shows that he is so average, his name becomes irrelevant and he can be any one of us.
The script and the original novel have to be credited immensely, but not as much as David Fincher. This film is a masterpiece because of Fincher's direction and storytelling style. He has put his stamp on this film from start to end and it is impossible to not feel the presence of the director. It is extremely fast paced. If a 140 minutes long film never makes you feel bored for even a single second, then the director deserves a bow. The film is very stylish with its visuals and Fincher uses a lot of creativity with the cinematography. The whole movie looks intentionally dirty and dark. The film is also an example of tour de force editing.
Now let's come to the acting. Norton is fantastic. He expertly portrays a man who is an insomniac and who is slowly collapsing mentally due to what he considers society's pressure. Helena Bonham Carter as the infamous Marla Singer is also breathtakingly good. She is wacky,funny and just plain weird. But if there is any actor that this film belongs to,it is certainly Brad Pitt. Charisma just oozes out of every inch of Tyler Durden's body. I can't think of Tyler Durden without visualising Brad Pitt wearing that red jacket with sunglasses. Durden's philosophy,though controversial, is undeniably thought provoking.
When Fight Club first came out, it was negatively accepted by some critics who opined that a film as bloody and as violent as this, might attract copycat behaviour as the film also shows how people can be manipulated and influenced. While I completely understand that opinion, but I believe that cannot reduce the quality of the film itself.
Fight Club is a must watch for every film lover and it is certainly one of David Fincher's best films as well as one of the very best films of the 90s.