Left Field Cinema

In 1999 our screens were graced with such films as The Matrix, American Beauty and Magnolia, but arguably the greatest film of the year was Fight Club, a bold, brutal and beautiful take on the modern man’s loss of identity.

The film follows ‘the narrator’ (Ed Norton), an insomniac who seeks refuge through visiting support groups for the terminally ill. He is able to sleep, work and live happily due to letting out all of his emotions, until Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), another ‘tourist’ of the support groups arrives. He finds that in her presence he cannot cry, and therefore cannot sleep. On a business trip, he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). When he arrives home he finds his apartment destroyed. He calls Tyler and they meet at the bar, Tyler agrees to let ‘the narrator’ stay on the condition that he hits him as hard as he can. The following visit to the bar they have another fight, this time attracting a crowd, once the crowd realise that the brawl for entertainment, they begin to join in and take turns. Tyler and ‘the narrator’ establish the group as ‘Fight Club’.

In many people’s minds, the film is an extravaganza of glorified violence. Yes, the film is hard to watch at points; this is due to the savageness of the whole thing. These people want to be hurt, they want to feel pain, it is as much a gift as a punishment to be punched in the face by your best friend. The violence seems real. No overly dramatic punching sound effects we are used to hearing, just skin on skin smacks that not only the victim feels, but the audience too.

This film is impossible to take in within one viewing, every time you watch it there will be something new, unseen or simply missed. The dialogue is fantastic, Tyler Durden’s comments on society ooze with style and substance, ‘You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake’ is one of the many, now iconic quotes.

The performances are outstanding, especially from Brad Pitt, an anti-social, nihilistic and unrecognisable ‘free spirit’ whose aim in life is destruction to himself and his surroundings. His performance in ‘Fight Club’ is only equalled in ‘Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’, another fantastic film. Helena Bonham Carter delivers her best performance and Edward Norton is of the highest standard too.

The piece contains priceless comedy moments, ‘Chloe looked the way Meryl Streep’s skeleton would look if you made it smile and walk around the party being extra nice to everyone’. Not only is there priceless dialogue, but the film contains hilarious slapstick moments too (Ed Norton beating himself up in his boss’s office) to situational comedy (Ed Norton being pulled into Meat Loaf’s huge breasts). Unlike most comedy films though, Fight Club is beautiful as well as brutal and hilarious.

The visuals are outstanding, the opening title sequence, now known as the ‘brain ride’ is one of the most entertaining opening credits ever. The shooting style is used throughout the film, from gas explosions to the sex scene. The colour scheme is exceptional too, the lighting, clothing and settings are all neutral until Tyler comes along and then there is a persistence of secondary colours which creates the offbeat feeling that is only answered in the last fifteen minutes.

There are very few films that both provoke and entertain in equal measure, that challenges you every time you watch it. It is one of the few films that has morals that have not aged, but become more and more relevant in each second of each day , ‘the things you own end up owning you.’

Sam Boullier