Jack and Tyler appear about as different as two people could possibly be. Tyler is fun, witty, sexy, and smart, he has a goal; a purpose, and he’s willing to help Jack hit rock bottom to see things from his point of view and understand that he, too, has a purpose. Jack on the other hand, is an insomniac. He lives in a condo, spending his time outside of his dead end job buying new furniture from home shopping networks, boning up his wardrobe, and generally leading a very boring life. He is smart, but he has a different perspective on life than Tyler does. As is said in the movie, Tyler is free in every way Jack is not. Jack is also not allowed to talk to Marla about Tyler at all, even though Marla knows more of Tyler than of Jack.
After dealing with his insomnia for quite a long time, by going to depressing self-help support groups for people dying of strange diseases and disorders (which is where he meets Marla), Jack comes home one night from a business trip to a very surprising sight. With nowhere else to go, he reluctantly calls his single serving friend, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), whom he’d met on this trip he just took. They go spend the night drinking at a bar. While talking, a point Tyler makes to Jack is that “the things you own end up owning you.” This is an important point, because later during their quest for hitting rock bottom, this becomes a new value system for Jack. Material possessions seem to mean everything to the world. Tyler is already living a life that denies that value system completely. Before leaving, Tyler asks Jack to do him a favor. He wants for Jack to hit him as hard as he can-- an interesting request, to say the very least. Jack does him the favor and then Tyler returns it, again, without Jack asking him to. This is the very first installment of Fight Club.
Jack ends up moving in with Tyler after the terrible tragedy of Jack’s condo being blown to bits (later we find out, by Tyler). This is a big change for Jack. Tyler occupies a disgusting, rundown, old house in the warehouse district, which takes Jack some time to get used to. Every night, after their days as members of society are over, they fight, just for fun. In time, with growing interest and desire to participate from passers by, Fight Club is born.
Now, the name of the movie would more than likely lead anyone to believe that this picture is violent, and it is violent, but not in an evil, maniacal way. In this movie, the violence is a release for white-collar workers who are sick of the world trying to convince them that if they work really hard, they will succeed, or that they could ever be special or unique. It is a chance for them to feel powerful, because in the end, having nothing to lose makes them powerful. But it’s only after you’ve lost everything that you’re free to do anything. In Fight Club, it doesn’t matter what their job is, because during Fight Club they are different people, they no longer have anything to lose.
Tyler and Jack run the show. There are a few rules, though. They are not to be broken. As Fight Club escalates, Tyler starts giving out homework assignments to the members that call for destruction of property, defacing corporate art, and starting fights they are to lose, with perfect strangers. This last part is to prove the idea that most people will do just about anything to avoid a confrontation so extreme as fighting someone they don’t know over something stupid. These homework assignments are the reason why they can’t break the first two rules. Fight Club does not exist. No one can know about Fight Club. After a few months, Fight Clubs start popping up all over the US, started by either Tyler or Jack, but Fight Club is no longer Fight Club. Fight Club itself has changed into Project Mayhem, led by Tyler. The plan is to wreak havoc all over the city, yet still have the members of Project Mayhem lead their daily lives. Jack becomes very distraught; Tyler never told him about Project Mayhem.
Now, I said that a few things were important at the end of the movie. The fact that Marla knows no difference between Jack and Tyler throws you for a loop when you find out that Tyler is really just a figment of Jack’s imagination. Throughout the whole movie, you don’t know Jack’s real name. He is never addressed in conversation as anyone, except once, but it’s pretty hard to catch. This is because in reality (in the movie) the narrator is Tyler Durden. They truly are the same person. This is why Jack is not allowed to talk to anyone, not just Marla, about Tyler. There are hints to this as you watch, and it’s very difficult to pick up on them the first time through.
I was blown away by this movie, the first time I saw it. I didn’t know quite what to think. This movie made me question the life I lead myself, and made me contemplate my existence more than any other movie had. That aspect still hasn’t been topped by any other movie. This movie was inspiring to me. It made me want to change my world. Therefore, this movie met all of my criteria. I was expecting Brad Pitt’s character to be very original; his character was definitely that. I wanted to see something that would make me think a lot. I wanted to see something that maybe I wouldn’t completely understand the first time. Fight Club was that, as well. I wanted to see a film that was smart, but not smart to the point where you feel dumb at the end for not knowing what’s going on. The plot twists were excellent, and the dialogue was clever and fun. The message of the movie was so unique. I don’t think that it’s really possible to compare this movie to any other. To me, this movie lacks a genre because of its originality in plot. The cinematography was also wonderfully executed. After watching the movie, I felt so thwarted from not knowing that Tyler and Jack were one person, that instead of being annoyed, the only thing I could do was laugh about it. Then I watched it again. I would highly recommend that you do the same. I promise you that the only reason why you wouldn’t enjoy Fight Club is if you happen to be a complete moron. I highly doubt that too, if you happen to be reading this. But, one last thing, watch it and then just try to tell me it wasn’t a masterpiece. Try to tell me that it’s not worth talking about.
Works Cited
Fight Club. Screenplay by Jim Uhls. Dir. David Fincher. Prod. Art Linson, Cean Chaffin, and Ross Grayson Bell. Perf. Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter. Videocassette. Twentieth Century Fox, 1999.
