ComplainerMan

It used to be that when I thought of Brad Pitt, I was reminded of the stoic, moralist creature from Interview With a Vampire. As for Edward Norton, he was always the magician from the Illusionist, calm, composed, ever in control. And then Fight Club came in and punched everything I knew and loved in the face. At that point, I came to know and love Fight Club. It’s the movie that has it all: Extremely developed characters, a solid plot, a mind-blowing twist, and Helen Bonham Carter, who I have yet to see play a role in a bad movie. Now that we’ve established the taste in talent, it’s review time.

Fight Club revolves around the life of a seemingly bland man who’s suffering from chronic insomnia. His desk job provides him with nothing but stress and frustration, and his boss does his best to do the same. A brief exchange with his physician leads to the conclusion that he A) will not be receiving any sleeping pills, and B) he should visit the testicular cancer group to see what pains are worse than insomnia. The transition between focusing on insomnia and focusing on the nemesis-girlfriend, Marla Singer, is flawless. When at first he begins to become a part of this group and others, and is able to cry with them, his insomnia vanishes. And then along comes a spider, a spider with a poor poker face that smokes. Her lie reflects his, and his insomnia returns.

In a separate yet simultaneous timeline, he meets the enigma Tyler Durden on a business flight, and they exchange cards. A small, seemingly meaningless encounter in which the main character (due to the lack of an official name, called “Narrator”) discovers that both he and Tyler have the same briefcase. What begins as a small coincidence rapidly spirals into chaos as the Narrator’s apartment is later on destroyed by an explosion. Though he has Marla’s number from their compromise on who gets what group when, he decides to stay with Tyler. They head to a bar, have a few drinks, throw a few punches, and decided to make a habit of it. Then they start to draw a crowd. Thus, Fight Club is unofficially founded.

That isn’t even half of the plot, or the quirks, or the draw, but when the Fight Club is turned in a completely different direction, when Tyler decides to step things up a bit too far for the Narrator to handle, shit gets real. Other Fight Clubs spring up across the country. The Feds get involved. Someone dies. His name is… Well, you’ll get to that. Out of sheer respect for the movie, and for the intricacy of the plot, there won’t be any spoilers. That might make for a shorter review, but perhaps a better buildup. Besides, the first rule of Fight Club is, you don’t talk about Fight Club. Not the spoilers, anyway.