We now turn to David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club: part
three of the invented genre “Films Featuring Miserable and/or Deeply Flawed
Protagonists Narrating Their Own Lifestyle Choices as Contrarian to that of
Society” (I hope this is not an indication of my own preferences).
An elaborate credits sequence transitions to a shallow
focus of what is revealed to be the back of a gun, pressed into the narrator (Edward
Norton)’s mouth. The change from shallow to deep focus in order to reveal the
narrator at the other end creates a disjointed and startling image. Like
Trainspotting, the audience finds themselves in the middle of conflict, and is
only supplemented with an explanation from the main character’s voiceover. The
first bit of dialogue used is purposely cryptic: “People are always asking me
if I know Tyler Durden” as this is the narrator’s first reference to his unreliable
style. It is by no means a new thing, but similarly to Goodfellas (1990), it is
used to incite speculation about how this character came to be in the present
situation.
While Goodfellas uses simple camerawork in its opening,
Fight Club utilises several quick cuts between shots, much like the changes
between scenes in Trainspotting. An air of suspense is constantly maintained because
Durden (Brad Pitt)’s dialogue remains asynchronous as his face is off screen,
allowing the camera to only show us the narrator’s perception of the situation:
cutting to the front, the side and back again. A medium close-up of the
narrator pans to the right allowing Durden to move past and into the background
where the shallow focus hides his appearance from the audience. We want to know
who this assailant is and why he had a gun in the narrator’s mouth, but Fincher
chooses to hide this for the time being because the film’s twists and surprises
are yet to occur. From both a framing and story perspective, this is also a
subtle indication that the two characters are different but linked at the same
time.
The use of cuts between different shots of the narrator
also allows for greater perception towards their movements and behaviour, as well
as close examination of mise-en-scene used. The beginning close-up shows the
placement of lighting on both sides of the narrator’s head, allowing the
visible sweat to be noticeable. The cut to a close up from a medium close up
emphasises the narrator’s head turning to look at his assailant, and the pale
blue lighting appearing on only the left side of his head. This presentation of
a static and largely motionless main character contrasts sharply with Boyle’s
and Scorsese’s films, who are shown from the beginning as heavily active in
their own lives or at the very least, not at the mercy of what we believe to be
someone pointing a gun in their mouth.
REFERENCES:
Fight
Club. Dir. David Fincher. Regency Enterprises, 1999. Film.
Corrigan, Timothy & Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. Third
Edition. New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2012. 470, 474, 475, 479.
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