Fight Club Review
by "Shay Casey" (gumbyshay AT hotmail DOT com)February 13th, 2000
***1/2 out of ****
Year: 1999.
Starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf Aday, Jared Leto, Zach Grenier, Eion Bailey.
Screenplay by Jim Uhls.
Directed by David Fincher.
Rated R.
"Fight Club" is a challenging piece of work, a film demanding that its viewers look past what's on its surface and find something deeper. Certainly those not used to thinking critically about a film will either be put off by "Fight Club's" violence or completely buy into the hackneyed philosophy of its most visible character, Tyler Durden. Both of these reactions are understandable, but also miss the point. "Fight Club" is not glorifying violence at all; rather, it's actually a kind of morality play, one whose central character struggles with two conflicting visions of society, neither of which seems particularly desirable. Though it may be shocking, and will certainly be controversial, "Fight Club" is rewarding to those willing to take an honest look at society. Director David Fincher has created a modern fable, one that's both confused in its message and shocking in its final realization.
The film centers on a nameless character, called the Narrator (Edward Norton, who is called "Jack" once or twice, but is most often not referred to by name), an insomniac who works a boring job deciding whether or not products should be recalled (read: whether or not it's cost-effective). Desperate to cure his insomnia, he asks for medication from a doctor, who sarcastically tells him to go to a support group for men with testicular cancer "to see what real suffering is like." The Narrator goes to the group, surprisingly finding that crying in the embrace of men with "bitch tits" (you'll know it when you see it) actually helps him sleep. He signs up for all sorts of support groups, attending each under a different name, faking illness. It works right up until Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), a chain-smoking fellow "support group tourist," ruins the Narrator's plan. Since Jack can't cry in the presence of another "faker," his insomnia returns. He comes upon another solution when he meets a mysterious soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Tyler's idea is that men are being stifled by modern society, which is too "feminizing," not allowing men a chance to release their aggression. His solution? For Jack to hit him, and have the two proceed to beat each other to a bloody pulp. This ritual soon evolves into a weekly club (called Fight Club, appropriately) in which other men in Jack's situation find their release by fighting strangers in the basement underneath a seedy bar.
"Fight Club" is an exhilarating rush, a wild roller-coaster of energy that doesn't let up. Whatever one may think of its philosophy, one can certainly agree that the film is never boring. Director David Fincher, who showed a great visual flair in "Seven" and "The Game," pulls out all the stops here, and the result is a dizzying experience. His style represents the best of post-MTV filmmaking, with a camera that explores anything and everything in each scene, often indicating a sly sense of humor on the director's part. The early scenes take some funny and on-target jabs at 90's society, and Fincher's visual style compliments that quite well. He includes a scene in which Norton strolls around his apartment, and each piece of furniture is labeled with a price and description, like in a magazine catalogue. A breaking-of-the-fourth-wall sequence in which Tyler, working as a projectionist in a movie theater, splices single-frame shots of porn into family movies, is by far the most clever, and actually serves as a trick to clue the audience in to what is going on. Here's a hint: Look very closely at the opening scenes, and the final shot, just before the closing credits. If you miss it, don't worry, you're sure to register it subliminally . . .
The performances in "Fight Club" are uniformly brilliant. Brad Pitt delivers his most assured and daring performance since "12 Monkeys," and Edward Norton delivers further proof that he may be one of the best actors of his generation. Helena Bonham Carter, in a strange departure from her earlier period films, has a whole lot of fun with her relatively small, but not unimportant role. Meat Loaf, a former rock signer, does a fine supporting turn, despite being saddled with unusually large breasts (in one of the film 's more bizarre sight gags). The actors are perfectly cast. It's difficult to imagine anyone else playing Pitt's and Norton's parts, and every performer has clearly thrown himself (or herself, in Bonham Carter's case) into the role. Fincher must be credited for getting the most out of his actors, which is usually an added plus for directors who concentrate on visuals. With David Fincher, it's almost become expected.
This is a daring film, and as with most daring films, there is a danger of many people missing the point. "Fight Club" is no different. Those unwilling to look any deeper may see Tyler's philosophy as dangerously fascist and nihilistic, a call for random violence and the destruction of civilization as we know it. There's very little doubt that Tyler is advocating these things, but the film is not. "Fight Club" is not so much an endorsement of fascism as an allegory for it. If one takes Tyler's message to be the film' s, then "Fight Club" will most likely be utterly repulsive, and downright ludicrous once Tyler recruits members from around the nation for the next step of Fight Club, called Project Mayhem. Certainly a bunch of "space monkeys" running around in black masks and planning to blow up all the credit card companies is not a reasonable solution to the country's problems, but look at the irony of what Tyler's army becomes. "Fight Club" is certainly critical of 90's culture, as its Narrator works a mind-numbing job in which he recites corporate slogans about "de-prioritizing" this and making these his "primary action" whatchamacallits, while he becomes a sleepwalking drone. This is definitely no way to live a fulfilling life, but Tyler's Project Mayhem group is no better. Its members can eventually do little more than recite "Tyler-isms" and follow orders, essentially becoming mindless drones of another sort, the only difference being that they are now drones following a wildly different dogma from the corporate one. Is this presented as an ideal? I think not.
The screenplay, written by Jim Uhls and adapted from Chuck Palahniuk's novel, is sharp and fast-paced, with clever dialogue and sly jokes to spare. In fact, the only fault I can find with "Fight Club" is that it comes dangerously close to running itself around in circles in the last 30 minutes. This is a possible case of David Fincher's apparent desire to have a mind-bending plot twist at the end of every one of his movies (remember "Seven" and "The Game?"). "Fight Club's" twist isn't just unnecessary (the film could have worked without it), but it comes far too early, and it keeps on twisting until the final scene, when it almost comes unraveled. The twist isn't really awful, and it works if you think about it, but it causes "Fight Club" to become too plot-oriented during its final act, whereas it had been about mood and philosophy early on. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't ruin the film. After all, "Fight Club" is a risk-taker, and films that take risks often have problems like this. An overly "plot-twisty" (look, ma, I invented a word!) finish doesn't change the fact that the film is a challenging and impressive work. One thing is for sure, my interest didn't wane at any point during the film.
I know that a whole lot of people are going to buy into the words of Tyler Durden, to them I say to be careful, because this film is not telling anyone to do the things he advocates. Tyler's philosophy smacks too much of fascism, leaves no room for moderation, which indicates what the film is actually calling for: balance. (The final sequence would seem to suggest this.) Tyler and Jack are right: The men in Calvin Klein underwear ads are not real men. The members of Project Mayhem, however, are not what men should aspire to be. They are not intelligent beings; they are robots. Tyler demonstrates how Hitler rose to power, by finding disgruntled members of society and convincing them that someone else is the source of all their problems. Such clear allegory to one of the darkest periods in world history indicates that this film is in actuality a cautionary tale. Much like the initially misunderstood "A Clockwork Orange" before it, "Fight Club" is a warning that if society suppresses man's more primal urges too much, it will pay the consequences. As a study of how a crazed, but charismatic leader can lead followers to violence, it's a frightening study indeed.
-reviewed by Shay Casey
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