For all you movie people out there (and even semi-movie/not-very-movie people) hubby and I were watching a fascinating commentary on Fight Club the other day. There was a huge twist, in his observation, that was NOT about Ed Norton’s and Brad Pitt’s character being the same person.
His claim was that Ed Norton’s character wasn’t just visiting support groups for “fun,” but that he actually did have testicular cancer, and it was Helena Bonham Carter’s character who actually did not actually exist, except as an extension of Ed Norton. She, instead, was a representation of his “feminized” side, the side he would fully come to accept later due to the imminent removal of his testicles.
Here’s the link for anyone who has time in the next five years or so to check it out, but in short, it explains a lot more, including theories of the house on Paper Street not really existing and basically everything that was simply conjured up in Ed Norton’s mind–which was a lot. And really, if anyone could come up with psychological twists like this, wouldn’t it be Fincher?
Fight Club: The twist that no one noticed.
Laughter Over Tears 
Just watched it. Wow. I know Chuck didn’t (consciously, anyway!) go there in the book as I’ve seen him interviewed where he talks about some of his intent. I’d like to know what Fincher says about what he did with it. It’s food for thought. Thanks for sharing it.
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Jeez, you’re fast on the draw! Yeah, I’m not sure Chuck DID go there. This might be Fincher’s interpretation/take. But I’m not sure either…
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That spin on things certainly went over my head when I saw the film. But then it was my son, still a teen at the time, who had to patiently explain to me about Ed Norton and Brad Pitt being the same person. When I finally got it, my response was WOW!
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Haha.Yeah, I remember tilting my head quite a bit during that whole ending. I just want to see it again now through new eyes for myself to verify if any of it’s possible… maybe one day….:)
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Hi. Speaking of Pitt: Have you seen Bullet Train? He’s in it. It came out last year. I liked it a lot. It’s a fast-paced, wacky, violent story about a group of assassins on the same Japanese high-speed train.
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I’m a 1/4 through. Love the bit about Thomas The Tank Engine – that guy def paid attention more than I did growing up lol
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Yeah, he could have written a thesis on it, right? 🙂
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We did, indeed, see it, Neal, ’cause Mr. Pitt’s one of our favorites. And it didn’t let us down. LOTS of fun!
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This is another interesting psychological twist, in addition to the masculine alter-ego twist. If “Jack’s raging bile duct” can invent one persona, he can def invent 2. Now, how many have You invented, author?🙂
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Zero. I’m only the messenger! lol (I think you were addressing me and not Chuck…) 🙂
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I’m halfway through Anatomy of a Ruin. I move slow. 🛒💧🧟♂️
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Oh man, what a nice surprise! Can’t believe you went there at all, lol. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same–yet–about your video. But it IS in my saved/favorites and slated for the immediate future. What is it with life/time? It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? If I had five kids and was a neurosurgeon, I’d understand not having time to do all the things I want to do. But it’s not entirely clear why I don’t have time to do anything while NOT having five kids or being a neurosurgeon, lol
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Wow, that’s an interesting take. I’ll check out the link later, because you’ve got me curious!
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Thanks, Annalisa. It’s always fun to fun into other Fight Club people and get their gears going!
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I had not even considered that possibility before!!
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Me either. And I’m not 100% sure it’s even true. Gotta see the movie again and make our own judgement. But interesting to consider. 🙂
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Now I gotta go back and watch this again, Stacey. The film has a lot of layers to it to be sure!
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Yeah, exactly. We’ve gotta see it for ourselves and then decide. But so weird! Okay, as the pirate said in Pirates of the Caribbean: Weird…er. And fun, lol
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Great post 🙂 Been a while since I have seen it, but yes, I am aware of that plot twist 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
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That’s amazing, John! You’re the only one who knew about that! We ARE talking about Helen Bonham’s character being another part of his imagination…not the fact that Brad and Ed Norton are the same, right?
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A lot of hard work went into that commentary Stace. Respect to its author. I’m slow at dissecting films….. had to be told by daughter Lauren that the two key males were one and the same. I must have watched FC three or more times, but always ended up somehow dissatisfied. The take on HBC’s character might straighten some of that out….if I ever get round to watching it again!
One thing came to mind (maybe no surprise 😉) is that if just a quarter of the analytical skills deployed in that vid were applied to political events and stories, we would see the poorly disguised shams, lies and charades from all sides in a clear light. Yeah I know, films are far more interesting!
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Oh man, Kevin, don’t go there, lol !!! I was just thinking that the other day, actually. My god, the passion, the microscopic dismantling, the thesis…. you are so right. That type of effort, applied to real world topics…where would we be? Somewhere else entirely, where facts and apparent reality are concerned. But none of us wants to go there! lol. It. Is. Just. Too. Depressing. I guess we’ll all (most of us, a lot of us?) just boil slowly in the pot…as we entertain ourselves… until the end…. 😦
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Boiling frogs are us!
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🙂 🙂 🙂
Always good to hear from you, Kev. Take good care.
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I guess I need to watch the movie.
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Hi, B.H.! Thanks for dropping by!
I know you’re not into movies anymore, lol. No worries.
I do think that Fincher is a master filmmaker, but that’s more important to some than others. 🙂
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I’m not the biggest fan of Fight Club for various reasons, but the twist is the best part. Although I don’t usually listen to fan theories, I do love how a movie can be interpreted different ways by different people. This theory is actually pretty plausible.
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Yeah, nothing better than a twist that you don’t see coming. Usually my husband can figure something out ten minutes into a movie. It is a fun theory, but it definitely MIGHT be subjective. Gotta see the film again, but hard to find the time, of course.
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