Fight Club - 1999
"So much of 'Fight Club' was a rant against fathers" - Chuck Palahniuk
Fight club is without a doubt one of my greatest movies. For that, making this review was not easy. So before we start talking about Fight club (which break the 1st and the 2nd rule of it) allow me to give my personal opinion about it by answering some questions.
Initial release : 21 september 1999 (USA)
Director : David Fincher
Screenplay : Jim Uhls
Scenario : Chuck Palahniuk
Box office: 100.9 million USD
Cinematography: Jeff Cronenweth
Actors : Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Jared Leto . . .
What was my expectations before i watched it ?
What is this movie about ?
The first thing i knew about the movie was its name, obviously, and the actors who was in it. So i thought probably it was a movie about "fights" in a "club". I watched Brad Pitt fighting before as Mickey O'Neil in Snatch and as Achille in Troy, and he was pretty tough. I expected Edward Norton to be also a good fighter. I mean he got the potential. His casting as Derek Vinyard in American History X shows how dangerous he could be. But sir Chuck Palahniuk contraried my expectations. The movie was not about fighting. Most people thinks that it does, but including some fight scenes in a movie, doesn't make it the "Undisputed" or "Never back down". The message that this movie tried to send to people is not about "...how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward", the message here is : "You have to know, not fear, know, that someday you gonna die, until you know that you are useless...". So when i say that you won't see things as you're used to, after watching this movie, i want you to know that i mean it. It's a fact. you opinion won't change that.
So do you really wanna watch this movie ?
Fight Club lead oneself to its revolution. Let me explain : same as the narrator, we all have this character inside of us, this perfect version of one person (Tyler Durden for example). Who was there since the day each one of us was born. And we know he's there, but we act like he's not. Cause we think that he represent our insanity (but he don't). So when i ask you if you're ready or not to watch this movie, what i mean is : are you ready to give your "Tyler Durden" a chance in the real world ?
Great Scenes
1/ I want you to hit me : Tyler explained to the narrator, while sharing a beer in a bar, his philosophy of life, which was something like this : "Things you own, end up owning you". Now lets try to analyse Mr.Durden's personality from that. We can clearly see that Tyler is one of the few men who sees society for what it is. And instead of submitting, he rejects it entirely. He acted sincerely and didn't submit to anything or anyone. He's the part of you that hates the monotony of your life and sees it for the hospice that it is. He's "free in every way you are not".
2/You do not talk about fight club :
“Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club! ..." New members are joining the club everyday. The narrator and Tyler found themselves in control of a big community. And as the rules insist about keeping this club discret, all members once they meet each other outside the club, they act as they were strangers.
3/Chemical burn : (If you want my opinion, this the best scene. This is the scene that brought my "Tyler" to life)
4/Jack's smirking revenge :
We all wanna do it, and hopefully we will ; quitting our jobs while we still get paid, and also give our bosses a good lesson.
So Fight Club gives us the steps that we need to follow to accomplish that goal and free ourselves from slavery.
-1- Step one : Get that inappropriate behavior, become lazy, and make your job the last thing that came to your mind. And most importantly write things about Fight club's rules and make your boss notice it. So that once he came complaining, tell him to f**k off. Tell him to deal with it.
-2- Step two :Wait a few days, then be honest with him, and ask him to keep paying your salary while you'll be absent all the time. Insist on that until he get pissed off and call the security.
-3- Step three : You won't be as talented as Edward Norton in this. But it will work for you anyway. All you have to do is to kick your own ass. And make it looks like he (your boss) did it.
5/Tyler Durden :
Tyler Durden is The Narrator's split personality. He was created by the perfect storm of the Narrator's insomnia-induced insanity and his frustration with a hollow life of wage-slavery and consumerism. He is the manifestation of the completely free person the Narrator wishes he could be.
...
Narrator : No, you have a house.
Tyler : Rented in your name.
Narrator : You have jobs! You have a whole life!
Tyler : You have night jobs because you can't sleep. Why do you stay up and make soap?
Narrator : Marla. You're fucking Marla, Tyler.
Tyler : Ah technically *you're* fucking Marla, but it's all the same to her.
Narrator : Oh my God.
Marla Singer:
Marla Singer was a strong-willed woman who came across as being a complete nutcase.
Marla was named after a school bully who Chuck Palahniuk knew in grade school.
She used to steal food from delivery vans and clothing from laundromats to survive. She once attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of Xanax, but it was "probably one of those cry-for-help things."
She met The Narrator at a testicular cancer victims support group, which she went to despite obviously having never had that affliction. She also went to to other support groups, but for reasons other than The Narrator's. She went to the groups because they were "cheaper than a movie and there's free coffee." This caused great distress to The Narrator, who had her agree to not go to the support groups in the same days as him.
She didn't hold the agreement, though: when The Narrator left the support groups for Fight Club, she took notice of his absence.
Tyler Durden didn't care too much for her besides sex (which he called 'sport-fuck'), ut he recognized she was at least trying to reach the bottom.
