A sharp look.

Rating: Null/10 (13 February 2000)

Fight Club is not for the squeamish. If closely watching people beat each other into a pulp offends you no matter what the context, do not see it. That said, it is an urgently relevant film on at least three levels. It functions as pointed social satire, a close analysis of the difficulties of maintaining real relationships in a consumer-driven society, and a sharp look into the mind of a man dealing with it all. One very popular (a well-deserved reputation, I might add) critic called this film "macho-porn". My evidence against this is the film's rather poor showing at the box-office. It, like Eyes Wide Shut, challenged people on very uncomfortable levels. The poor box-office results of these two films are not evidence against their relevance; they are testimonies to their relevance to the deeper, darker places in our hearts. (you know... the places we don't usually like to look.) So, if you are NOT in the group that I warned away in the first two sentences of this comment... this film is a must see.