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FIGHT CLUB
One of the most fascinating films of 1999, Fight Club is a ferocious and groundbreaking piece of film making that, in the tradition of Tarantino, breaks all the rules of conventional movie making, drops red herrings during every reel, conveys some very disturbing messages, confuses, aggravates, and most importantly, never allows the viewer to take their eyes off the screen.
Edward Norton plays an insomniac caught in a dead-end existence who finds temporary solace in attending support groups, even though his only addiction is insomnia. This quick fix is interrupted by a hot mess of a woman named Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) who is finding the same solace in attending support groups that Norton's character is. They meet and agree to not attend the same meetings.
While on a business trip, our hero finds himself seated next to someone who calls himself Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charismatic soap salesman whose gateway into Norton's life turns out to be no accident. Norton and Pitt start an underground club where guys beat the crap out of each other and find a cathartic release they find nowhere else in their humdrum lives, and just as the one club starts becoming a nationwide franchise, Tyler begins initiating a plan to take the club to a whole other level behind Norton's back.
This film is a triumph for director David Fincher and probably the best film of his career...rich in imagination and technical wizardry serving a bizarre story that doesn't answer at least half of the questions it poses. I have probably watched this film half a dozen times and there are still elements of the story presented here I still don't understand and probably never will. I think anyone who completely understands every frame of what happens here is lying...I wouldn't be surprised if screenwriter Jim Uhls was even a bit confused when he saw the final product because Fincher's imagination as a director is in overdrive here...creating a dark and dangerous atmosphere filled with over-the-top and unapologetic violence, not to mention Fincher's accustomed expertise with visual imagery...Fincher paints on a cinematic canvas that is startling and gnaws at the viewer like an animal's claw, forcing you to face an ugliness you don't want to face. And though it might seem strange, as squirm worthy and ugly as this story is, it also produces laughs, some nervous and not always intentional, a lot of them having to do with more breaking of the 4th wall than you might expect from a movie like this that just when you might be forgetting it, jumps in and reminds you that it's just a movie.
The film features exquisite film editing, visual effects, cinematography, sound editing and a cast that is nothing short of perfection. Edward Norton officially became a movie star with his powerhouse narrator and Brad Pitt has never looked better and is just blistering as Tyler Durden and somehow, Helena Bonham Carter manages to create viable chemistry with both stars and create her own individual character, bathed in pathos and self-pity, but in denial about it. Future Oscar winner Jared Leto can also be glanced as a fight club member. It can't be fully explained and it can't be appreciated in a single viewing but if you've never seen this underground masterpiece, get your first viewing out of the way and make sure you're taking notes.
One of the most fascinating films of 1999, Fight Club is a ferocious and groundbreaking piece of film making that, in the tradition of Tarantino, breaks all the rules of conventional movie making, drops red herrings during every reel, conveys some very disturbing messages, confuses, aggravates, and most importantly, never allows the viewer to take their eyes off the screen.
Edward Norton plays an insomniac caught in a dead-end existence who finds temporary solace in attending support groups, even though his only addiction is insomnia. This quick fix is interrupted by a hot mess of a woman named Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) who is finding the same solace in attending support groups that Norton's character is. They meet and agree to not attend the same meetings.
While on a business trip, our hero finds himself seated next to someone who calls himself Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charismatic soap salesman whose gateway into Norton's life turns out to be no accident. Norton and Pitt start an underground club where guys beat the crap out of each other and find a cathartic release they find nowhere else in their humdrum lives, and just as the one club starts becoming a nationwide franchise, Tyler begins initiating a plan to take the club to a whole other level behind Norton's back.
This film is a triumph for director David Fincher and probably the best film of his career...rich in imagination and technical wizardry serving a bizarre story that doesn't answer at least half of the questions it poses. I have probably watched this film half a dozen times and there are still elements of the story presented here I still don't understand and probably never will. I think anyone who completely understands every frame of what happens here is lying...I wouldn't be surprised if screenwriter Jim Uhls was even a bit confused when he saw the final product because Fincher's imagination as a director is in overdrive here...creating a dark and dangerous atmosphere filled with over-the-top and unapologetic violence, not to mention Fincher's accustomed expertise with visual imagery...Fincher paints on a cinematic canvas that is startling and gnaws at the viewer like an animal's claw, forcing you to face an ugliness you don't want to face. And though it might seem strange, as squirm worthy and ugly as this story is, it also produces laughs, some nervous and not always intentional, a lot of them having to do with more breaking of the 4th wall than you might expect from a movie like this that just when you might be forgetting it, jumps in and reminds you that it's just a movie.
The film features exquisite film editing, visual effects, cinematography, sound editing and a cast that is nothing short of perfection. Edward Norton officially became a movie star with his powerhouse narrator and Brad Pitt has never looked better and is just blistering as Tyler Durden and somehow, Helena Bonham Carter manages to create viable chemistry with both stars and create her own individual character, bathed in pathos and self-pity, but in denial about it. Future Oscar winner Jared Leto can also be glanced as a fight club member. It can't be fully explained and it can't be appreciated in a single viewing but if you've never seen this underground masterpiece, get your first viewing out of the way and make sure you're taking notes.