On top of leading a boring, normal life, Jack suffers from chronic insomnia. To ‘cure’ himself from the ‘disease’, he goes to a doctor who refuses to prescribe him a pill; instead, he suggests to Jack to attend a support group for testicular cancer victims for the latter to experience what real pain is. Jack takes the doctor up on his suggestion, and he gets hooked. Soon, he books every support group there is, finding catharsis in their sufferings, and he’s able to sleep well. Until he encounters another ‘tourist’ in the person of Marla Singer. Jack’s concentration at support groups ebbs at the sight of Marla, and his insomnia returns.
On a business trip, he meets Tyler Durden, an intriguing character and a soap salesman. The two hit it off, and when Jack finds his unit blown up, he immediately calls Tyler for shelter. Out of the blue, Tyler asks Jack to hit him, which the latter did. Soon, the two release their pent-up emotions through a slugfest; Fight Club is thus born. Under Tyler’s leadership, the Club expands into ‘Project Mayhem’, with the sole purpose of creating mischief and anti-capitalist vandalism in the city. When one of the members of the Project dies, Jack desperately tries to put a stop to the chaos. He finds it too late. Tyler has moved the Project into major cities around the United States in a sort of franchise. He has penetrated even the law enforcement. As Jack traces Tyler’s footsteps after his sudden disappearance, he is confronted with a shocking surprise: he is Tyler Durden.
Is Tyler my bad dream? Or am I Tyler’s?
It’s split personality at its best, and performances at their most superb. The movie was done MTV-style and this kept it from sinking into the bowels of boredom. Some may see it as too violent for their tastes; in fact, I had, on some occasions, cringed at the sight of blood and gore. But for all the hostility the movie seemed to have depicted, we did not lose sight of the central theme: the members of the club have become victims of the drudgery of day-to-day activities, and the only way in which they can break free from this is to get in touch with their instinct for pain and violence.
I am Jack’s admirer of this movie.
And so is my quill.
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