Fincher's caustic satire, whist slightly losing its potency upon repeat viewings, still remains a powerful piece of counter consumerist art.

Rating: 8/10 (2 August 2010)

In the closing months of 1999, two films were released depicting modern man in crisis. The first was "American Beauty" directed by Sam Medes and depicting a middle aged man suffering a midlife crisis. "Fight Club" directed by David Fincher and released two weeks later was its angrier, much more cynical counterpart. Adapted from Chuck Palenhuick's 1996 bestseller, "Fight Club" swaggered into cinemas to a lukewarm reception from critics, who found the film polarising and its violence gratuitous, exacerbated by the studio poorly thought out marketing campaign. Since then however, the film's reputation has gradually grown in esteem and is now regarded as one of the greatest films of the 90's. The film's themes still resonate today and I feel that it fares well when compared to its competitor, which seems soapy and melodramatic by comparison Whist I would agree that the film is a unique one, featuring stellar performances from Norton, Bonham Carter and Pitt and slick direction from Fincher, the film loses some of its acerbic potency slightly upon repeat viewings. Nevertheless it's more than apparent "Fight Club" will go down as one of the best movies of the late 20th Century and a landmark depiction of masculinity on film.
Pitt's performance as Tyler Durden is undoubtedly the highlight of the film. Boasting an air of dangerous virility and later mocking, contemptuous threat, Durden will likely go down as one of cinema's most iconic male characters, up there with Eastwood's Blondie, De Niro's Travis Bickle and Pacino's Michael Corleone. Coming at the end of a seminal streak in the 1990's, Pitt delivers a powerhouse performance, playing the anarchic Tyler with rebellious aplomb. His chemistry with both Norton and Boham Carter are excellent, with Durden as the perfectly extroverted yin to Norton's much more introverted yang and his scenes with Carter crackling with sexual tension. Without a doubt, Durden is the films charismatic heart of darkness and Pitt deliver's in a truly exceptional performance.
Norton's role as the anonymous, insomniac narrator is far more subdued compared to Pitt's but Norton's white collar everyman appeal gives the character a relatable appeal. Whist at times, the characters narration can seem dour and neurotic, Norton's anonymous nature makes him a more relatable protagonist then Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham, and more sympathetic that Michael Douglas in "Falling Down". If anything, Norton's character feels more like Generation X's equivalent of Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate" than Spacey's disillusioned baby boomer or Douglas's psychotic vigilante. If Pitt's anarchist soap salesman is the films dark heart, then Norton is its audience surrogate and ultimately the moral core.
Among the supporting cast, the two undeniable stand outs are Helena Boham Carter as the nymphomaniac, destitute Marla Singer and Meat Loaf as Robert "Bob" Paulson, rather unfortunately endowed with a pair of "bitch tits". Here, Boham Carter plays a character a million miles removed from the quirky but increasingly stale characters she's played recently. A foul mouthed, nymphomaniac "tourist", Singer comes across as a interesting and unique love interest and yet, when at the end of the film she displays more typical romantic lead aspects, it feels true to character as opposed to suddenly jarring. Meat Loaf gives the role of Bob, a sense of humour and likability, in a role that could have easily lapsed into parody, which makes his eventual demise and martyr-fication by Project Mayhem all the more tragic.
Fincher's past experience making stylish thrillers such as "Se7en" and "The Game" is clearly on display in "Fight Club". The fight scenes are brutal and gratuitous, not shying away from blood, sweat and disfigurement, but there's logic and reason behind them, as opposed to just being sequences designed to shock or disgust its audience. I feel that if the films fight scenes had not been as visceral as they are, then the films themes would have felt less effective and the film would have been criticised for not developing or exploring them enough. The film is shot through with a glossy sheen, which doesn't detract from the grittiness and brutality of the fight scenes .The more stylised sequences that are in the film however, are handled competently, sequences testament to Fincher's early experience directing music videos, with the film boasting several uniquely stylish and occasionally surreal sequences, from the title sequence depicting a brain's neural network in which the thought processes are initiated by the Narrator's fear impulse, to a disorienting, slow motion sex scene. On the downside, several of the more stylised, CGI heavy sequences now look dated, especially the latter. Whist the films themes may be timeless, evidently the CGI isn't.
Thematically, "Fight Club" is not the first film to explore the "modern man in crisis" theme. Throughout the 1990's, we had several movies exploring that and similar themes, usually with sardonic observations on society and commercialism peppered throughout. "Falling Down" had sly observations on commercialism and advertising and Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" explored the relationship between sensationalist media and violent serial killers. "Fight Club" tackles much of the same themes and whist it does it successfully, at times the films themes and messages tend to overwhelm the plot and frequently feel heavy handed. I felt the bar scene where Pitt explains his philosophy and views on commercialism to Norton was a subtler way of getting the films message across.
Overall I would say "Fight Club" is certainly a unique film with a cynical, acerbic take on consumerist culture. Undoubtedly one of the best films of the late 20th Century and with an enduring male icon in the shape of Pitt's Tyler Durden, the film admittedly does lose some of its satirical bite upon multiple viewings with its message coming across as heavy handed. The films non linear plot line and cutaways can also feel repetitive after a while. The pro's however far outweigh the cons of Fincher's searing satire.