Fight Club

Released 1999
Stars Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, Jared Leto
Directed by David Fincher

You will either love or hate this movie, because it glorifies violence. It says the only way men can liberate themselves from today's stifling, consumer-oriented society is to beat the crap out of each other. Pain is liberating. I don't think so. Fight Club definitely glorifies violence, but it also has a cautionary message about its violence. It didn't matter--I still didn't like it.

I will say Fight Club is an excellent film, though. Its visual style is fabulous, and the acting is outstanding. My problem was I couldn't agree with its philosophy, and that prevented me from enjoying it. The violence disgusted me, and the plot bored me. Afterward, however, I thought about the movie for several hours. There's a lot of symbolism that you recognize after the big surprise near the end, and you can discuss it for hours. There are a lot of reasons to see Fight Club, but I don't know how many people will be able to appreciate and enjoy it.

Bill Alward

Below are excerpts from my two favorite critics, who were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

"Fight Club" is the most frankly and cheerfully fascist big-star movie since "Death Wish," a celebration of violence in which the heroes write themselves a license to drink, smoke, screw and beat one another up. Sometimes, for variety, they beat up themselves. It's macho porn--the sex movie Hollywood has been moving toward for years, in which eroticism between the sexes is replaced by all-guy locker-room fights. Women, who have had a lifetime of practice at dealing with little-boy posturing, will instinctively see through it; men may get off on the testosterone rush. The fact that it is very well made and has a great first act certainly clouds the issue.

Edward Norton stars as a depressed urban loner filled up to here with angst. He describes his world in dialogue of sardonic social satire. His life and job are driving him crazy. As a means of dealing with his pain, he seeks out 12-step meetings, where he can hug those less fortunate than himself and find catharsis in their suffering. On an airplane, he has another key encounter, with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a man whose manner cuts through the fog. He seems able to see right into the Narrator's soul, and shortly after, when the Narrator's high-rise apartment turns into a fireball, he turns to Tyler for shelter. He gets more than that. He gets in on the ground floor of Fight Club, a secret society of men who meet in order to find freedom and self-realization through beating one another into pulp. It's at about this point that the movie stops being smart and savage and witty, and turns to some of the most brutal, unremitting, nonstop violence ever filmed.

Roger Ebert

With its kinetic style, visceral approach, compelling storyline, and powerful social message, Fight Club makes a commanding case to be considered the '90s version of A Clockwork Orange. In a time when so few motion pictures leave an impact, Fight Club refuses to be ignored or dismissed. The experience lingers, demanding to be pondered and considered, and, unlike 95% of modern-day thrillers, there is a great deal here to think about and argue over. Fight Club presents an overload of thought-provoking material that works on so many levels as to offer grist for the mills of thousands of reviews, feature articles, and post-screening conversations.

James Berardinelli