A film that takes a hit. For the anniversary of the ”Fight Club”
If you slept through the nineties, Fight Club is such a cult novel that was turned by director David Fincher into a visually stunning 1999 feature film starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter. Although this novel was not Chuck Palahniuk's first, it was the first to be published because the writer's debut work, Invisible Men, seemed to the publishers too cruel and outrageous. Frustrated and pissed off, Chuck decided to write something even more such, expanded his short story into a full-fledged novel, and Fight Club was born, like an angry screaming child who wants only one thing - to punch the world in the ass. After the resounding success of the film and book (largely thanks to the film), Palahniuk became famous as a capable author and created a whole bunch of great works. Today Fincher's tape turns 20 years old, and we remember what was and remains special to this day. The plot of "Fight Club" focuses on a not very reliable storyteller and his relationship with a mysterious man named Tyler Durden. First, friends create an underground club where men tired of everything can come and fight from the heart, then a network of clubs, and then this whole idea grows by itself and turns into a project "Mayhem", the final goal of which is to destroy the American economic and social system with her banks, loans and pretty plump office workers. Instead, it was planned to return to pristine life in the ruins of skyscrapers, with brave hunters oozing testosterone as the ruling class.  Palahniuk has definitely managed to write something ambiguous. He was accused of promoting dangerous topics for the consumer society, and the film was called a fascist rhapsody, pretending to be a story of liberation. But the novel and the book sank so deeply into the soul that an impressive number of real fight clubs were opened in different countries, where men happily muttered each other. Even one of our writers has an eyebrow scar as a reminder of visiting such a place. So yes, Fight Club was the beginning of some kind of significant shift in consciousness for a whole generation of disgruntled American (and not only) men.Even if you've watched the movie, it's worth reading the book, because a couple of key plot points are somewhat different from what was in the original, and reading the main character's reasoning, you can immerse yourself in his not very healthy imagination. This is a very exciting journey to an unusual place, but not everyone wants to stay in it. Chuck Palahniuk's novel acts like a punch in the jaw, as it absorbed all the frustration and all the rage of the American working class, especially the male part of it, and showed its purest primitive essence.  The men at Fight Club are tired of being treated like second-class people. They, too, want their chance of success, good insurance and so that they are not seen only by the service personnel. These guys want to be seen primarily as people, and not as a function, position, or bank account. And they suddenly realized that none of this would happen. Obviously, their frustration and helplessness are still relevant, and that is why the topicality of the "Fight Club" is still its main distinguishing feature and chip.  It all starts with a middle-aged man struggling with an identity crisis , and literally fights with himself, to the knuckles, and then this fight develops into a war against the entire capitalist society. Director David Fincher skillfully transferred the dark madness of the main character's stream of consciousness to the screen, skillfully and very wittily using a peculiar manner of storytelling, vivid special effects and rivers of fake blood. Speaking of blood. The brutal drama sparked a lot of controversy about the film as one of the most violent of its kind, and when it made it to the UK, several scenes went under the censorship knife. The main character is Tyler Durden, who moonlights as a projectionist and sometimes adds some spicy moments to famous films with his own hand, would not approve of such an approach.The cast here, as you already understood, is impressive: in addition to the adorable boyfriend Jennifer Aniston, who had to urgently gain muscle mass to look like a fighter, we also have Edward Norton straight from the set of "American History X", where he was just fighting machine, and now rushed to lose weight, and Helena Bonham Carter as the unforgettable Marla Singer, the role model of all the rebels of the 2000s. We also have Meat Loaf, who took a break from rock music to play Bob, a man with huge breasts - the result of a failed hormone treatment. Such a role is a bold act, especially for such a courageous rocker. And, of course, Jared Leto, breaking hearts with his angelic face, and now playing one of the club members, who is transforming this face beyond recognition.  The first rule of Fight Club (and actually the second, and tenth, and fiftieth): you are talking about Fight Club. Because, in fact, there is something to talk about. Our life with you and now is more than saturated with corporate advertising and promotion of consumption, which has long become a habit, and in the "Fight Club" you can see, albeit in an anarchic form, a sound message: spend less time on consumption and chasing brands, pay more attention to the really important things. "Fight Club" is also about angry young men. Project Mayhem does not appear out of nowhere, and many cities around the world are populated by guys who feel anger at being denied the power to which they are entitled. At least that's how they see the situation. And if some activists stood up from their keyboards and did at least something,  Fight Club, with a budget of $ 63 million, flopped at the box office, but later took on when it came out on DVD and became a cult following thanks to word of mouth. This is understandable - such an anarchist manifesto was especially impressive for disgruntled young men who do not spend money on cinema. But even today there are a lot of those who are not ready to spend money on tickets and a few buckets of popcorn with soda, if you can just find a movie online and feel the full power of the knockout blow of "Fight Club". Anyway, stick in your mouthguard and get ready to take a punch. The Topic of Article: A film that takes a hit. For the anniversary of the ”Fight Club”. |
