Insignificance..!!
"People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden."
"3 minutes. This is it. Ground zero. Would you like to say a few words to mark the occasion?"
*Muffled sound*
With a gun barrel between your teeth you speak only in vowels.
"I'm sorry?"
"I can't think of anything."
And so started one of the biggest cinematic journeys of my life, as far as it goes. For the ones among you who think Nihilism is a joke, here's my boot.
I've always been a great fan of David Fincher's movies, but this one takes the honours of being his best. Yup, Fight Club. Alien3 was this largely unknown also-ran movie which put Fincher on the map, while Seven sent the audiences reeling with its unrelenting display of levels of Psychosis our dear old Kevin Spacey can achieve. Fincher added Morgan Freeman and a slowly rising Brad Pitt to the cast, and lo! An entertainer that shocked audiences was born.
Then came The Game, with yet another intriguing story, this time starring the quintessentially impudent Michael Douglas. The Game was a typical Fincher-esque movie... with Sean Penn and Deborah Kara Unger adding to the mix. And then came the masterpiece.
With a story right out of a novel that was a shock hit among the literary circles, as pundits were busy criticizing or applauding the guts of Chuck Palauhnik, the author, Fincher set to work. Fight CLub starred Brad Pitt as the new age Guru Tyler Durden, Edward Norton as the nameless narrator of the story, and Helena Bonham Carter in one of the roles only she can pull off with conviction.
Pitt plays the role of Tyler, the icon for millions around this world struggling to keep up with the toll that modern life takes on them. A world where success is measured by the amount of money you make, where there are no roads for further development, where men are emasculated versions of their once dominant peers. Tyler is a nihilist who believes that nature's cause is being tampered with... as people try and grow more and more perfect, they are letting their imperfections trivial. This leads to a stunt in evolutionary growth, as we are no longer what nature wants us to be. Tyler's theory is to preach people to be imperfect, cuz as he says cockily....
"Self improvement is masturbation. Self destruction is the answer."
Edward Norton plays the narrator, one of the millions of office employees working jobs they hate so that they can earn money to buy things they don't even need. His tryst with insomnia drives him into Tyler's hands, and the way they influence each other's lives forms the crux of the story.
Only David Fincher can do justice to a story as dark as Fight Club, and he has. Brad Pitt rocks in his role... his looks, his swagger and attitude bring Tyler to life. Norton, while under-rated, steals the show. His portrayal of the suffering common man surpasses every other role he has done so far. Overall... a modern day classic... Kudos to David!!!
May Tyler rest in peace.
Amen.
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