Such a Classic

Rating: 9/10 (28 September 2017)

This film although quite a mental thriller sides with a sense of classical cinema. This movie falls between realism and an avant-garde. Many of the events taken play may have happened before as well as can happen in the future. The final scene does get a little extreme but theoretically an act of terrorism similar to that could occur. Due to the film being narrated by a character, there is more freedom for the story to be twisted around a bit. Everything can be twisted due to complexity of an unstable mind, leading to a more artistic stance.
The lighting in Fight Cub was minimal, casting shadows around every corner. Although the lighting set the mood for the movie, it was used realistically. Nothing was un-natural, some of which I have experienced myself. Turning off the power to the house while it rained created a sense of realism. I'm not saying everyone does that, but when it comes to living in a house that is falling apart and leaking, it is something that should be taken care of. The basement scenes were great when it came to the lighting, there was little to none. It lowered our senses, making it more difficult to track what is going one, and get lost in the pure violence that was going on between two people. One film that comes to mind, using light as an expression of feeling is Limitless. Every time the main character takes a performance enhancing drug, the lighting around the world changes. Everything is more vibrant and energizing and contrast was enhanced to give the viewer a chance to walk in the main character's shoes.
Now let's talk about the shots. Fight Club covers all of the classic types of shots, from static to full motion this film seams it all together flawlessly. Close up shots made the fights personal, giving the viewer a chance to be in the shoes of the narrator. Being this close, raises the heart rate, nothing matters but this fight. The viewer is forced to watch the violence and there is no chance of getting out, just like the narrator taking punches. Extreme long shots were used when setting the scene. Displaying the whole back of the bar and the parking lot took the minimized the violence. It gave the viewer a chance to watch it from afar. The fight is meaningless and the viewer is no longer attached to it. It doesn't affect anyone but Tyler and the Narrator. This distance adds a sense of humor to lighten the mood. When the random guys come out of the back of the bar, the viewer sees what any onlooker sees, a fight between two people over an important reason. This adds a sense of humor to lighten the mood. The viewer knows they are beating each other up for fun, but the other guys see it as a serious fight between two drunks that should be broken up.
The production design crew did a fantastic job creating the apartment for the narrator. Filing it up with furniture to make it look similar to an Ikea magazine. This is a major part for setting up the story, showing how materialistic the narrator is. Also a slight foreshadowing with the yin and yang table. As the narrator transforms, he becomes less materialistic, he loses a sense of what it's like to own nice things, and does not miss it. He even points out that after a month of no television, he almost forgot it existed. The costume design department did a nice job on the narrator's work attire. Starting off well dressed with a tie and clean pressed shirt and eventually changing to an unbuttoned coffee and blood stained shirt. I noticed Tyler's shirt at the end was very unusual looking. After doing some research I learned that the shirt he wore was covered in pornographic magazine covers. The rating association made sure to tone down the movie to receive its R rating, but they completely missed the nude images portrayed on the shirt. That shirt really resembled what Tyler stood for.