FREE ESSAY ON FIGHT CLUB & NEO-NOIR

FIGHT CLUB & NEO-NOIR

On the Dark Side: Fight Club & Neo-Noir
In "Fight Club" (David Fincher, 1999) the director, Fincher, presents the elements that
are essential in a Neo-Noir film. The most obvious of the characteristics is the dark
overtone of the film. "Fight Club" is mostly set in night or in shadows as are most noir
films. The other obvious characteristic of Neo-Noir is the voice over narration. Voice
over narration is when a voice off screen is doing a narration of what is happening on
screen. This narration is provided by the protagonist of "Fight Club," "Jack." Edward
Norton plays the ambivalent protagonist, who only refers to himself as "Jack." An
ambivalent protagonist, usually the main character, is someone the audience likes, but
who possesses character flaws. This brings us to the use of doubles and splits in noir
and neo-noir films. "Jack" (Edward Norton) unknowingly develops an alter ego by the name
of Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). However, this turns out to be only one of "Jack's" flaws as
"Fight Club's" ambivalent protagonist. For every protagonist in Neo-Noir films there is a
femme fatale, which is the leading lady who eventually leads the protagonist to his doom.
"Jack's" femme fatale is Marla Singer (Helena Bonham-Carter). These are the
characteristics of Neo-Noir expressed in "Fight Club;" shadows or dark lighting, voice
over narration, the ambivalent protagonist, double and split imagery, and the femme
fatale, while implementing an underlying theme of crime and violence. "Fight Club" is
also almost completely a flashback up until the very last scene. Although not a typical
noir film, "Fight Club" does fit in best under the genre of neo-noir due to these
stylistic elements.
One of the main reasons that "Fight Club" could be considered neo-noir is because of the
dark lighting and the use of shadows. Noir films are often considered dark or "gloomy."
Low-key lighting is characterized in this way:
Low-key lighting features a relatively bright key light compared with little fill light.
This produces lots of shadows. In low-key lighting, most of the picture is under-lit
while other portions of the image area are adequately exposed. Typically, low-key
lighting employs hard light in a high contrast, fast fall-off image. (Prince 56)
Fincher uses low-key lighting efficiently. Virtually every scene has a dark feel to it;
especially the scenes in which "Jack" is at Fight Club or the personal help seminars.
This lighting not only shows a reflection on the mood of the scene, but the mood of the
characters as well. It creates a mind set in which right or wrong, good or bad are not
always clearly defined. The use of shadows and low-key lighting give "Fight Club" a
genuine neo-noir feel.
The ambivalent protagonist, "Jack" played by Edward Norton is a character the audience
will feel sympathy for and even come to like. However, it is obvious he has serious
problems. "Jack's" main problem, what the audience comes to find out, is his alter ego,
Tyler Durden. "Jack" struggles to take control as he sees that Tyler's acts of vandalism
are wrong. However, he cannot stop himself until the very end (more on that later).
However, even before the character of Tyler Durden is introduced it is clear that "Jack"
has personal problems; insomnia, discontent for his job, and a dependency on support
groups. "Jack" is also faced with a moral dilemma as well as constantly being put into
danger, another characteristic of the ambivalent protagonist. "Jack" fits the criteria,
"A hard-boiled, cynical, disillusioned character - nevertheless usually likable"
(Flippo). Edward Norton plays the quintessential ambivalent protagonist in the role of
"Jack."
In every noir film with an ambivalent protagonist comes along a femme fatale. Marla
Singer is "Jack's" femme fatale. However, she is not the typical femme fatale, she is not
strikingly beautiful or independent. According to Flippo a femme fatale is, "An alluring,
sassy, independent and usually dangerous woman" (Flippo). Marla is actually dependent in
the sense that she needs the support groups and she even tries to commit suicide. These
are not regular actions for a femme fatale. However, everything that "Jack" goes through
has some relation to Marla. "Jack" even admits it; "And suddenly I realized that all of
this, the gun, the bombs, the revolution has got something to do with a girl named Marla
Singer." Marla Singer is not the flashy, independent femme fatale; but she did have a
great effect on what happened to "Jack." Although she was not the typical version of a
femme fatale she still seemed to have the same effect.
The scene that shows the most characteristics of neo-noir film is the opening scene.
"Fight Club" basically starts at the end and flashes back to see how "Jack" and Tyler
Durden got into this situation, which is a technique often used in noir films. The scene
opens looking directly into the eyes of "Jack," who is starring down the barrel of a gun
that has been put into his mouth. Instantly the underlying theme of violence and crime
are implemented. The use of shadows and dark lighting also is a key element in the scene,
which establishes mood. The audience never gets a clear shot at either "Jack's" or Tyler
Durden's face, without at least part of it being in shadows. There are no flashy colors,
very dark and sullen, it is almost virtually black and white, except for streetlights and
the time on the bomb, which is appropriately red. Before "Jack" even says his first on
screen words, the voice over narration comes in. This voice over narration basically
tells what is happening right as the movie picks up and will soon dive back into the
recent past to bring the audience up to date on the events that led to this situation.
The voice-over narration also brings in another characteristic of film noir even before
she has appeared on screen, the femme fatale, Marla Singer. The audience now knows that
Marla Singer had something to do with "Jack's" current state. In the first minutes of the
film, Fincher established five key elements of a neo-noir film: flashbacks, the themes of
violence and crime, the use of low lighting and shadows, voice over narration, and the
femme fatale.
Even though Marla Singer could be interpreted differently as a femme fatale, "Fight Club"
still best fits the characteristic style of a neo-noir film. Most, if not all, the
elements of a neo-noir are presented in "Fight Club." However, the element that secured
"Fight Club" as a neo-noir film is the ambiguous ending. Although things may appear to be
on the up swing, which would lead some to classify "Fight Club" as a film gris (a film
done in noir style but "spoiled" by a happy ending), the true ending is still unseen. The
audience does not truly know what is next and what is to come:
The truth shall set you free, but it also can be painful. One of the essential
ingredients of genuine film noir - as opposed to the watered down diluted version that
has the look but not the toughness - is the brutal truth. And ambiguity. No pat answers.
Life isn't so simple in a good noir. At the fadeout it's not obvious how things might
continue. We just saw an interesting tale, but the true ending is up in the air. It is
the human struggle against Fate." (Flippo)
Characteristic elements of neo-noir films such as shadows / dark lighting, voice over
narration, the themes of violence and crime, and flashbacks are all present in "Fight
Club." Although there may be some discrepancies in "Fight Club" in some areas of neo-noir
criteria, the ambiguity of the ending best lands "Fight Club" into the genre of neo-noir
film.
Bibliography
Prince, An Introduction to Film.