I'm a little apprehensive about writing this post, as David Fincher is one of the most recent directors that I've profiled so far. However, he has been active for well over a quarter century, and has more than enough classics to qualify. Also, while I'm sure that Fincher will make another film that actually gets released in theatres eventually, for now he's in a bit of a hiatus, and I suspect we're seeing him transition from one stage of his career into another. So, it's a good time to take stock.
My first David Fincher film remains my favorite. "Fight Club" was one of those movies that I never would have seen before 1999, when nearly all my cinematic selections had to be negotiated with my loving, but rather squeamish parents. "Fight Club" came out right when I was leaving home for college, however, and an R-rating for "disturbing and graphic depiction of violent anti-social behavior, sexuality and language” was no longer any kind of barrier. At that point in my life, it was more of a selling point.
In short, I was perfectly primed to really enjoy and appreciate the subversiveness and plentiful vileness of "Fight Club." Based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel about modern masculinity in crisis, the film is absolutely bursting with violence and depravity, presented with pitch black humor and a gleeful transgressive verve. The characters revel in cathartic brawling and nasty pranks, as they work themselves up to full anarchic rebellion. And Tyler Durden and friends don't just stick it to the Man, but they do it in the most brazenly family-unfriendly way possible. There actually isn't as much adult content in the film as you might expect, but all the violence is realistically gory, the attractive actors constantly look like hell, and the nocturnal world they inhabit is full of broken glass, spilled fluids, and grimy stains. The memorable dialogue follows suit. There's the famous story of Fincher being ordered to remove the word "abortion" form the script, so he replaced it with a cringe-inducing pedophilia joke.
When I think of David Fincher movies, I immediately think of the tactile unpleasantness of "Fight Club," of the bag of liposuctioned fat getting stuck on a chain link fence, or Jared Leto being pummeled to a pulp. I also think of the very exacting camera work, tightly controlling perspective, mood, and tone. The narrative twists and turns are executed so well because of the precision with which Fincher parses out the amount of information that the viewer is privy to. He also plays with the cinematic form itself, shaking the frame during episodes of mental strain, and including subliminal images to make the audience question the fidelity of the film's reality. I love the little instances of fourth wall breaking, the penetrating virtual camera, the in-jokes, the multiple frames of reality, and a very, very unreliable Narrator. Already a notorious perfectionist, Fincher shot roughly three times as much footage as a normal production, orchestrated complex special effects shots, and ran considerably over budget.
Everyone talks about Brad Pitt's elevation to cinematic icon status with Tyler Durden, but what really holds the movie together is Ed Norton's performance. He is absolutely fearless, getting so much abuse and degradation heaped on his head as the movie's stand in for the hapless modern schlub. His monotone line readings, describing horrific car accidents and the banality of his own life, are alternately hysterical and depressing. Of course, onscreen he's no match for the charisma bomb that is Pitt as Tyler Durden, the Devil figure of the piece. Not even a scuzzy pink bathrobe could stop the sheer amount of masculine intensity coming off of Pitt. I suspect this is why some viewers never got it through their heads that "Fight Club" was supposed to be a cautionary tale, and the shallow philosophy of Project Mayhem was a pipe dream.
"Fight Club" famously didn't do well at the box office, but quickly became a cult film, misunderstood and beloved by a generation of disaffected young malcontents. In hindsight, it's a fantastic snapshot of certain attitudes and afflictions of the '90s, and a great example of the kind of no-holds-barred filmmaking that David Fincher was capable of with the right collaborators and the right material. Sadly, that perfect confluence wasn't so easy to achieve, and became less and less so as his career went on.
What I've Seen - David Fincher
Alien 3 (1992)
Seven (1995)
The Game (1997)
Fight Club (1999)
Panic Room (2002)
Zodiac (2007)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
The Social Network (2010)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Gone Girl (2014)
Mank (2020)
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