Anti-corporation films are a dime a dozen in the science fiction realm, but rarely does a film of this subject matter become a commercial and underground success in a real world setting. Fight Club accomplishes this. It is one of only seven films made in the 1990's to grace the top 10% of IMDb's prestigious Top 250, ranking at #21.
The plot of Fight Club revolves around the Narrator (Edward Norton), who tells the story from his point of view. The Narrator leads a typical life; he holds down a steady, albeit boring, job full of traveling and owns an apartment stocked with Ikea furniture. Unfortunately, he develops a rather severe case of insomnia. This leads him to believe that he has a problem that needs a solution from his doctor, namely drugs to help him sleep. When his doctor practically laughs off his problem and tells him that the people with real problems, of the life-threatening variety, are all in support groups, The Narrator decides to give a group a try. Once he attends one of the groups, he quickly becomes addicted - traveling from group to group and releasing his pent-up emotions with others. It becomes clear that he is not a normal, healthy individual.
On one of his many business flights he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Tyler intrigues The Narrator for many reasons, mainly because he is the polar opposite of himself. While The Narrator is meek and shy, Tyler is bold, daring, complete with fresh ideas on how to live life. As The Narrator increasingly conforms to Tyler's way of life they begin a club, Fight Club, which allows them to release their emotions with aggression. Once word gets out about the Club, however, it is no longer an exclusive bond between them, but an underground phenomenon that spreads like wildfire. As more and more people follow Tyler's lead, what will happen between Tyler and The Narrator and what will Fight Club become?
The direction and cinematography is dark and confused, matching the tone of the film to a 'T.' Just about every camera trick in the book is taken advantage of here, helping set the mood of panic during the many bloody fight scenes. The mood reminds me of The Matrix in the way that it portrays a regular joe character leading a bleak and boring life in a cookie-cutter world. Washed-out whites and very dark blacks and blues are key elements to the color palette.
Edward Norton and Brad Pitt are definitely the stars of the movie, but Helena Bonham Carter plays a big role herself and plays it beautifully. Norton's reserved, quiet character contrasts with Pitt's manic role very well, while Bonham Carter is caught in the middle as the twisted love interest. After watching this movie I realized that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Pitt play this sort of crazy character in multiple films (Snatch., to a greater degree Twelve Monkeys, and now this), he plays it so convincingly I'm surprised the man wasn't type-cast for this sort of role ala Anthony Perkins of Psycho fame. Norton plays narrator extremely well and really brings the movie together; whether he's on-screen or just speaking he holds your attention. His narration is a commentary on society, which comes in sarcastic, humorous, and cold flavors. In my opinion, I don't think anyone in the cast could have been better, they are all spot-on.
I do have a couple complaints with Fight Club, however. First, I felt it was a little on the long side. I don't know what I would cut, but to me I felt as if it could use less Tyler/Narrator scenes in the middle. I won't spoil the plot for you, but I understood what was going to happen early on and just wanted the movie to get to that point in the story. I hate it when that drag in the middle of a film happens, but sometimes it just does. Thts leads me to the second point, that this is a statement movie. With a statement film, most of the time, the director is spending time bringing the point across to the audience, which can lengthen the duration of the film sometimes to an unnecessary length. I feel as if this happens in Fight Club. More than a couple times I felt as if Tyler's ranting and raving about corporate America got a little old.
All in all, I must say that I enjoyed this movie. As with most films, there were parts I really enjoyed and others not so much. Norton and Pitt make Fight Club come to life and I feel that without them, there is no way this movie makes the Top 250. Unfortunately, Fight Club didn't rock my world the way I'd hoped it would. It is, however, a film I would recommend watching. 7/10
"The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club."
Sunday, July 19, 2009
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