Fantastic fantasy with real messages for real people

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 1999)

I don't think this film will work on DVD, that media is only dual layered, this film is multi layered! How I didn't get lost during this I don't know, but I was shot along with the storyline, not only understanding it, but also identifying with it. It's brilliant.
I found the first half of the film almost meandered along, stretching things out to meet the latter half where the story spins around and doubles up on the speed. The ending is superb and very bizarre, in fact the whole second half is bizarre, and yet believeable.
That's something that amazed me, how we were shown to understand and identify with these characters, even though they are leading and participating in some of the strangest acts. Very often we watch characters who we don't, and can't, believe in. It doesn't ruin the film, but it can't drag it down as we loose storyline and interest. That never happens here.
The acting is superb, Norton and Carter steal the entire film with a surprise performance from Meat Loaf. Brad Pitt is there, and he was good, but powerfully overshadowed by Norton. The film was visually stunning and in no way was the fighting glamourised or made to look appealing, in fact those scenes were sometimes quite disturbing, the way violence really is.
I've seen reviews and heard people say that it looses itself in the second half, I'd say it doesn't find itself until the second half. I think that's when we find ourselves too. You can identify, understand and sympathise with almost all that's going on, and these are keys that all film makers try and get hold of. Fincher does, and he puts them in the right lock, turns it, and opens a door that leads onto some very horrible thoughts and ideas.
See this film. Now.