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| Source: IMDb |
“So the first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club.”
As you can see, that didn’t age well because everybody’s been talking about Fight Club from the day it released till today and it's been more than 20 years. And well, I’m feeling rebellious so I’m gonna break that rule too and write a review about it. Sorry Tyler.
If you like loads of gratuitous violence and gory depictions of blood splattering about, then this movie is for you. Oh and also there’s shirtless Brad Pitt being a total badass. You get my point right? And last disclaimer, there might be major spoilers in this review so read at your own risk.
Introduction
Movie Name - Fight Club
Directed by - David Fincher
Genre - Action-Thriller, Drama, Crime
Running Time - 2hrs 19mins
Plot Synopsis
The nameless narrator (Edward Norton), suffering from insomnia, starts going to various support groups for alcoholics, testicular cancer victims, etc. There he finds emotional acceptance, comfort from other people’s sufferings, that like him, they all have problems too and his insomnia gets cured.
Then Marla Singer enters the picture and this safe haven of the narrator gets destroyed and once again he becomes unable to sleep.
After his magnificent apartment is damaged, he meets a weird soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and soon finds himself living in his dirty residence. The two bored men start an underground Fight Club with tight rules in which they battle other bored men. Things soon turn gray and this small Fight Club becomes the harbinger of mayhem.
Movie Review
This is a movie that you need to watch at least twice to really get it. At first look it seems like a simple movie about some men, bored with their “normal” lives, partaking in gruesome underground fighting to attain a sense of euphoria. But when we near the end of the movie, it becomes clear that it's way more than that. It's far more intellectual and psychological than it seems.
The movie isn’t about violence at all. Sure, there are a lot of bloody fights but it’s actually about being liberated from the society that sticks its fingers down our throats and makes us throw up all our dreams and flush ‘em down the toilet, into the dirty sewer of oblivion.
The movie immaculately conveys what it truly means to be human, what it's like when the thread of sanity that connects us to reality, finally snaps, when all hell breaks loose inside the 3 pound mass inside our skull. When Edward Norton’s character’s thread snapped, the hell not only broke loose inside his head but the whole world around him sunk into chaos too.
Tyler Durden entered the nameless narrator’s life when it was in shambles. He began to find solace in Tyler, a man completely opposite of himself, a mirror reflecting the narrator’s own hidden chaos. The narrator is a man who was worried about his burned furniture and his blown up condo while Tyler’s whole ethos is completely anti-consumerist and is always emphasising the futility of leading a life chained by consumerism.
This following monologue of Tyler is everything:
“Man, I see in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see it squandered. G**damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables, slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy sh*t we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very p****d off.”
People have different ways of looking at this movie. I believe “macho-porn” was the term used. The only difference is that the sexual part is replaced by the fights and these fights aren’t about winning or losing, they aren’t about money, they aren’t out of anger either.
But rather this self-destruction with bloody noses, falling teeth and losing consciences give the men a sense of ecstasy, euphoria, that testosterone rush. It almost makes them seem a bit masochistic. But this is what makes them feel alive. It doesn’t matter if they are slaves to the materialist society outside the Fight Club because inside, they are free.
Highlights of the Movie
The “I am Jack’s…” phrases.
Changing people’s lives at gunpoint.
Humans: The all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world
The Bottom Line
Fight Club is a cult classic and a total thrill ride. It exceeds all expectations with its mind-boggling storyline, amazing editing, amazing direction and equally amazing acting. It's definitely a movie everyone should watch at least once because of how captivating and powerful the message behind its narrative is. I am Jack’s overwhelming satisfaction.
IMDb ratings - 8.8 on 10
Written By - Sanjana Chaudhary
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