1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Fight Club

#991- Fight Club (1999)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by: David Fincher


Plot Summary: An unnamed narrator of the story goes about his daily life, which he finds mundane and has left him with insomnia. Looking for a cure, he goes to numerous support groups and interacts with another visitor, whose presence disturbs the narrator, as he is both drawn to her and wants his distance so he can sleep. Help comes to the narrator in the form of his new friend, soap salesman Tyler Durden, and their development of a club where men fight each other. The narrator soon realizes that Tyler has ulterior motives for the club, leaving the narrator with only one choice, put a stop to Tyler Durden's madness.  


Why is it almost an established rule that every guy must watch Fight Club? That might sound ridiculous, but I've heard it a lot in my lifetime. I've had numerous friends talk about film and point out "You aren't a real man until you watch Fight Club" and even though I've seen the film, I always wondered why. If you haven't seen it, you probably look at the title and figure it must be all centered on fighting, but there is more depth to it than the casual moviegoer might believe. In actuality, the fighting is not the main focus of Fight Club, but it follows more on a theme of changing your life and even being born again. I wondered if I had missed something upon my first viewing, so I decided to re-watch it. Not only did I get a possible answer to my question, but I also was able to experience Fight Club differently than my first viewing.

The main character of the film is an unnamed narrator, played by Edward Norton. The narrator comes off as a bit nervous and shy, which I feel Norton can play incredibly. Norton does a great job of playing a character who is representative of a quiet, mundane life. One thing about the narrator I enjoyed is that because he is nameless, a viewer is able to relate to him and almost become the narrator. I'm not sure if other viewers feel this way, but I felt that it was a lot easier to put myself in his shoes because he has no spoken identity. And, to be honest, I never actually noticed that he was nameless until towards the end of the film. What Norton is able to bring to the character is emotional range, in being able to play someone who is both helpless and in full control, depending on the situation.  

The narrator's life is forever changed when he meets Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt. Durden is personally responsible for altering the narrator's perception on the world by giving his beliefs on life. The audience and the narrator are both introduced to Durden in the same scene, and Pitt's able to play Tyler Durden with a cool and calm demeanor upon introduction. Throughout the film, Pitt's able to play Durden from calm and collected, to mad and psychotic. What's able to make Pitt's changes in emotion believable is Tyler Durden's personal outlook on life. Thanks to what he teaches the narrator about life, Tyler Durden is given a very believable method to his madness. While the narrator is a representation of what many people feel their lives are like, Tyler Durden is a representation of the kind of person they would want to be. Based on his actions, I don't think Tyler Durden can be labeled as a good guy or a bad guy, but thanks to Brad Pitt's performance, Tyler Durden can be labeled as the cool guy.

The narrator meets Marla Singer, played by Helena Bonham Carter, who has a carefree feel to her that leaves quite the impression on the narrator, even if he doesn't want to admit it. Marla has an interesting outlook on life, and a personal appearance that even she and other characters would admit seems like she's looking for attention. She has a scroungy look to her, as she surrounds herself in a world of drugs, sex, and alcohol. If you know anything about Helena Bonham Carter's other movie roles, you know that's not a difficult look for her to accomplish (insert Tim Burton and Johnny Depp jokes). All kidding aside, I found my perception of Marla to be changed immensely after repeated viewing, and realized that she genuinely cares about the narrator, and isn't as crazy as he initially believes her to be. For me, Marla was the character that was altered during my second viewing, as I felt she was given much clearer motivation and development in her relationship with the narrator.

By the end of the movie, I felt like I was able to understand why guys enjoyed the movie so much. It was not just because of the premise of a fight club, but also because of its representation of everyday life and the life men aspire to have. Edward Norton plays the narrator as what many audience members could relate to, and Brad Pitt is able to play Tyler Durden as what many viewers would want to do in life, serving as the dynamic component in their friendship. By bringing in other members to their fight club, Tyler Durden is able to pass along the lessons he's taught the narrator to a wider audience. As we see it transpire on film, it's quite possible that Durden's teaching are impacting the audience members watching a movie, particularly the men, since we see firsthand how many men Durden's teachings impact. It's quite possible that Fight Club has touched a chord in the minds of how many men live their lives, and that's why men watch Fight Club, instead of the violence.

When I saw Fight Club a second time, I couldn't see it the same way as I did when I saw it the first time. Thanks to a now famous twist ending concerning the relationship between the narrator and Tyler Durden, I was able to look at the characters in a much different way upon my second viewing. I was able to see numerous hints in the beginning of the film, and whole scenes and dialogue was altered to me, now that I knew the ending of the film. After I finished watching the movie, I knew that that was director David Fincher's plan, to surprise audiences with their first viewing and create a new film experience with their second viewing. Many moviegoers would probably say they like the first viewing better for the overall reaction at the ending. But I enjoyed Fight Club more the second time around, as it brought around better character development and motivations, and made for an overall more cohesive film experience of a film, that was meant to be seen twice.


Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars.

I'm not going to say that Fight Club was a film that changed my entire outlook on life, but I will say that the philosophies presented are entertaining, and performances by Pitt and Norton are definitely worth checking out the film once. However, because of its twist ending, I recommend seeing the film twice, in order to see it from a different point of view.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review 

Fight Club and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox