Intriguing but the message seems confused

Rating: 7/10 (28 June 2000)

I saw this first on video, quite a long time after its release, though I had been intrigued at the time by early favourable reviews suggesting a deep and interesting message. It is surprisingly in the art-house genre, dark both visually and philisophically and quite disturbing. The visual darkness is obviously needed since much of the film is about an insomniac's often distorted recollections of his nocturnal activities. The performances and the effects are strong. My difficulty is with the message. If, as the lead character asserts, people in general will go a long way to avoid a fight, why are so many men attracted to the fight clubs? I had anticipated a message of the type that the modern world comprises a computer industry and many services industries and so it is a world for nerds and women, leaving little role for traditional male stereotypes. Instead, the film portrays no contrasts of this type. The men appear to be escaping from hum drum lives or some kind of shared fear. The only woman, whose contribution to the plot left me in the dark, is certainly not a stereotypical service worker. When the revolution came I was confused as to what it was all about. Was it, for the men involved, nothing more than "something more exciting to do"? I would have liked a clearer statement, even if it would have attracted more controversy.