Movie of the summer

fight club

fight club is based on chuck palahniuks original novel of the same name. at the launch the book was met with mixed reviews with critics worldwide agreeing in unison that fight club was lacking in story and charm. much like the book it is based on, the movie adaptation received similar criticism.
fight club is about violence, testosterone and rebellion but also about self acceptance, love and what it means to be an individual. a movie of this nature is special in its own way, it wasn't searching for critical acclaim, or to spawn sequels or even to make a gargantuan amount of money. the sole reason that this movie was made was to make a statment. this can be seen in brad pitts, helen bonan carter and edward nortons performances along with tiny edited frames added in post production.

if we look at the opening credits, the majority of viewers glance over the warnings shown. We except privacy warnings and a still image of text regarding the unlicensed selling of dvd's or movie reeks. However, fight club does something so unexpected and so subtle in this opening section that it had never to my knowledge been recreated. I am talking of course of one of the most infamous cases of 4th wall breaking in all of cinema history, the message from Tyler . It is very difficult to discuss the message  without spoiling the majority of the film, but put simply, it reinforces some of the more shocking and powerful revelations in the movie. The particularly interesting thing about this message is that it is only shown on the screen for one or two frames making it near impossible to read on the first showing. This (for me personally) led to one of the only times I had to physically interact with a movie to fully understand it, namely pausing the movie to read the message.

It is almost impossible to discuss the story of fight club without spoiling the entirety of the film. But what I can say is that every location, scene, and line of dialogue serves a purpose. for instance, in a particular scene a devastating explosion blasts out protagonists personal effects out of his apartment and onto the street bellow. if you pay attention to where certain pieces of furniture land you can begin to see a pattern emerging. for example a ying and yang style table sets on fire as it tumbles to the ground, this can be interpreted as his balance in life finally beginning to crack and break,  further interpretation could be his mental instability finally catching up to him. we also watch as his fridge tumbles out of his apartment and shatters on the side walk, showing no food but only condiments and sauces. which shows us that he has no substance in his life, no meat, only luxuries like expensive furniture and fancy clothes, much like condiments on a meal.
fight club on reflection is a very pretentious film with one frame long sections being inter spliced with the full movie reel. however, at no point in its 110 minute run time do you feel bored or confused. every scene in the movie is expertly directed with beautful cinematography.
fight club has became one of my most loved films, this is one of the only movies that has generally stayed with me weeks and months after i originally saw it. its messages about life, love and violence have far more of an impact then any of the mainstream, big budget action sequeals of this summer.
fight club is without a doubt a master class in cinema