It’s difficult to know what to say about this film without giving it away so my words will have to be chosen carefully. We’ve had a lot of “surprise” films coming out recently, and Fight Club would be another one. A “surprise” film defined: just when you think you know what’s going on…SURPRISE you don’t!
Director David Fincher (Se7en, The Game) does another psychological number with this one. From a technical standpoint, the cinematography was great…the angles alone made for an entertaining film to watch. And the story only made it better.
Edward Norton (Rounders, Primal Fear) gives a captivating performance as a basic white-collar worker who is tired of his 9 to 5, Ikea-furnished existence. His life takes a turn for the better (or is it for the worst?) when he meets Brad Pitt who plays Tyler Durden, an energetic soap-maker. Tyler seems to have the answers to everything and shows him a whole world that he never knew existed…a world where other men take out their anger over their own lives in a secret boxing ring. The boxing ring (known as “Fight Club” to its members) is only the jumping off point for a whole string of other events, which Norton gets dragged into. The story is mostly narrated by Norton which is useful in giving us a little more background than we might have had otherwise, and it works well. The only time the narration becomes somewhat distracting was when Norton speaks directly at the camera rather than just being a voice-over. There was only one time that this occurred and seemed rather inconsistent with the rest of the film.
Pitt also performed well, and was enjoyable in this role when he was being something of a visionary as well as when he was just downright devious.
Helena Bonham Carter (A Room With A View, Howard’s End) plays Marla Singer, a girl with some serious issues (drug related and otherwise) who becomes involved with Durden and ends up hanging around more than she is wanted. Carter does an excellent job in this role and definitely seems to have shed any traces of her previous period work.
Another surprise in this film was Meat Loaf in the part of Bob, a guy with testicular cancer that you end up really feeling for due to Meat Loaf’s performance. You can’t help but want to hug him.
As for the violence, there is a lot. But the film has so much more to it that you can’t help but be fascinated anyway. Those who care to look past the violence will find much to mull over. You may find yourself cringing at times, but ultimately unable to turn away. And you may even catch yourself wanting to see it again once you know the ending to try and use your foreknowledge to see what clues you may have missed along the way.
Fight Club turned out to be a great way to kill a couple of hours…but it is not a veg-out movie by far. If you go, be prepared to think.
