Fight Club

Based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club follows a disenfranchised thirtysomething (Edward Norton) as he and a rebellious soap salesman (Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden) start an underground group based around men hitting each other (with said group eventually taking on a far more anarchic vibe). Filmmaker David Fincher has, perhaps notoriously, infused Fight Club with a decidedly off-kilter sort of vibe that’s reflected in its various attributes, as the director, working from Jim Uhls’ screenplay, kicks the proceedings off with a disorienting opening-credits sequence and perpetuates that unsettling feel for the duration of the picture’s (admittedly overlong) running time. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that the movie benefits substantially from a propulsive narrative and a raft of captivating performances, with Norton and Pitt’s now-iconic work here certainly matched by a stellar supporting cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf Aday, and Jared Leto. The film’s counterculture approach paves the way for an unpredictable midsection that makes a number of salient points regarding the way young man view their lives in this new century, which does, in the end, confirm Fight Club‘s place as a mostly engrossing drama that’s often as socially-relevant as it is spellbinding.

***1/2 out of ****