Fight Club

Paper Street

Yeah Fight Club. It's raw violent setting is a backdrop for a film about rebellion and identity. It's as if Marlon Brando in The Wild One (another good American Icon) was rewritten as an anthem for the disaffected in modern times.

It rebels against everything: social norms, the American Dream, even being part of a revolution; Tyler Durden, the film's lead even rebels against himself. It's really not about fighting. It's about living dangerously on the edge, and in essence living free. A great line that underplays much of the story is: It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.

And what could be more American than freedom.

David Fincher's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel gives the film an even edgier quality than the novel. It's tightly written, brilliantly performed. It has some of the best visuals of any film, bar none. I still think it's Brad Pitt's and Edward Norton's best work. It's a cult hit phenom.

I originally saw the film when in debuted at a midnight show with 2 friends. After the movie, we talked about it the parking lot for 2 hours. It's that good.

Michael