Fight Club (1999)

View trailer here

I have finally got round to making another entry on the blog. Here we are with the third entry to this project, and as you may have already gathered, it isn't a horror film! This is 'Fight Club'. The first rule of fight club is.... well, you know the rest! It would be an amazingly short post if we adhered to the rules! Again, rather than just regurgitate thousands of existing reviews already online, I thought I'd take a different perspective. those familiar with the film, will know how the two most prominent characters are Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden and Edward Norton's 'Jack' (in inverted commas as we do not know his actual name... In fact, he is credited as 'The Narrator', and only referred to as Jack on the blurb on the back of the UK DVD packaging... presumably after the subject in a series of journals he discovers during the film!). It seems as though the other pivotal character in this film text is always understated in influence, lost in all the mayhem. This is of course Marla Singer, whose role is acted by Helena Bonham Carter. This character's influence will be the focus of my analysis here.

"I Am Marla's Raging Influence"

Marla Singer is the key to the door where Jack assesses the world of Tyler Durden. In many ways, she is a 'real world' Tyler with the freedom and power Jack so wishes to acquire. Marla is the intimate axis between Jack and his life as Tyler. When they first meet, Jack and Marla appear to be kindred spirits. Two people confused about what they want from life and where they should be. It is shortly after, that Tyler 'enters' in order to give them direction!

The film as a whole is centred around Jack's struggle to be free. His subconscious desire to gain and express identity, which would be the total opposite of the 'Ikea Boy' lifestyle he finds himself in. Jack is so fed up with his mundane existence, hopping from business flight to business flight, that he fantasizes about being on-board a fatal mid-air plane collision. Marla is the catalyst for change, and Jack knows she plays a key role in finding his identity. Described as a "faker", Marla blocks Jack from feeling false emotions, and as the film progresses, she becomes a key feature in these emotions. The encoded message suggests that she is life, she is support, a structural basis for whatever it is that we need for identity and ownership of ones life. She is God. Marla's character becomes Jack's motive and reasoning. Jack's creation of Tyler is actually a male interpretation of Marla. Tyler is how Jack would see himself if he were to "let go" and become Marla. This may go some way to explaining why Jack does not initially give Marla his name when they are first introduced to each other.

Thinking about it, neither Tyler nor Jack actually exist, and Marla is the only one from the trio with a 'true' identity and a home - following the suspicious circumstances Jack's condo and possessions had been blown to pieces.

As mentioned earlier, 'Jack' is an alias (another one) taken by The Narrator later in the film, following his discovery and reading of journals which contain prose written about someone called Jack ("I am Jack's cold sweat", "I am Jack's smirking revenge", "I am Jack's complete lack of surprise"). 'Jack' is stuck so far in a rut with his mundane life, that he sees Marla as his saviour...someone 'real'.

Tyler's (Jack's) sexual attraction to Marla is an important element to the narrative. Tyler explains to Jack, "The things you own will end up owning you". This makes the audience wonder if maybe Jack's aim is not only to be liberated from what he owns, but also to unleash his emotions and sexual desires. This may be the motive for Jack in creating the 'attractive' Tyler alter ego - One side note... there is a scene where Jack and Marla are arguing in the street before he puts her on a bus to get out of town. They are standing in front of a cinema advertising the film 'Seven Years in Tibet'... a Brad Pitt film. Has Jack created Tyler Durden in Brad Pitt's image as this is what he sees as women finding sexually attractive? Surely, no coincidence! Jack's pursuit of Marla, not only makes her the reason but also the cause.



As 'Fight Club' evolves into 'Project Mayhem', Marla may seem to be all but forgotten and her attempts to contact Jack seem fruitless. The conclusions of 'Project Mayhem' can be argued to be carried out for her benefit. Tyler craves her sexually whilst Jack longs for a romance with her. This duality is always present, even when they deal with the patrons of 'Fight Club'. Perhaps this male aggression is a subconscious desire to please Marla, to prove their masculinity. This is evident when Jack discusses 'Fight Club' with Marla, his sarcastic tone suggesting his desire to impress her.

In the restaurant scene, Marla proves her control over Jack by screaming for him to shut up whilst surrounded by members of 'Project Mayhem'. Their reluctance to intervene suggests a hidden authority that Marla has (especially when the waiter recommends no clam chowder!). After all, if what Jack does is all for her, then perhaps the other members are all too aware of Marla's influence over Jack. Even his alter ego, Tyler displays fear towards Marla - he asks Jack never to speak to her about him - shows the extent of her influence over him.

The film follows themes of power, liberation, freedom, identity and constrained life. These are the obvious themes on display. However, when sexual desire becomes a theme, Marla's character takes a whole new lead. Jack desires Marla, but he cannot control her. He has no control over how she came back to him even though he sent her as far away as he could. He controls (is responsible) for the demolition of the credit card company office blocks, but is helpless in how she was bought back to him. Ultimately, Jack achieves his goal in gaining Marla's affections. They stand there together hand-in-hand as the tower blocks around them come tumbling down and everything is "restored to zero".