62. Fight Club; movie review

 

FIGHT CLUB

Cert 18

139 mins

BBFC advice: Strong violence

It is hard to believe that Fight Club's box office performance was so poor that it cost 20th century Fox's studio head Bill Mechanic his job.

Mechanic resigned after a dust-up with his boss, Rupert Murdoch, following its underwhelming US run.

And yet, 25 years later, David Fincher's movie is hailed as a 1990s classic, thanks to its massive success in the home video market.

One of the problems with Fight Club was that the studio had struggled to market it, believing it was geared only towards a niche male audience.

In retrospect, this is surprising because it stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, two of the pin-up actors of their day.

I can see why there was initial distaste and why it passes the test of time.

Stomachs can indeed turn at its violence. There are some very tough scenes in which blood and gore are the result of merciless beatings.

But there is deep pathos derived from Norton's character, the down and desperate unnamed narrator of the story.

At breakneck speed, he tells of his life, work and insomnia before he meets charismatic soap maker Tyler Durden (Pitt) on a plane.

He follows him like a puppy dog to his rundown home after being forced to have an intense punch-up with him outside a bar.

Such is the adrenaline rush, they create an underground fight club with rules that have gone down in cinema history.

Meanwhile, the narrator and Durden have tumultuous relationships with sex-crazed Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter).

And myriad characters become part of the circuit, including the huge-breasted Robert Paulsen, played by Meat Loaf.

There are some cracking performances to back up scintillating writing by Jim Uhls.

It is dark and violent and certainly is not for everyone, but although I don't rate it as a classic, Fight Club is very good..

Reasons to watch: Cult classic

Reasons to avoid: Fast narration

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Author Chuck Palahniuk had the concept for the Fight Club novel after being beaten up on a camping trip after complaining to some nearby campers about the noise of their radio. When he returned to work, he was fascinated to find that nobody would mention or acknowledge his injuries.

The final word. David Fincher: "It’s impossible for me to imagine that people don’t understand that [Brad Pitt’s Fight Club character] Tyler Durden is a negative influence. People who can’t understand that, I don’t know how to respond and I don’t know how to help them." The Independent

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