10 Best Scenes In David Fincher's Filmography

Fincher's excellent adaptation of Chuck Palahnuik's transgressive novel brought one of the most ingenious twists in literary history to the screen. Fight Club follows a dejected, insomniac Narrator who finds a new lease on life when he meets and befriends the enigmatic Tyler Durden. Together, the two friends form an underground club where other "disenfranchised" men can vent their aggression with society by punching each other. Hence, "Fight Club."

As the film transitions into its third act, the Narrator runs into a fellow club member who refers to him as "Mr. Durden." This interaction sends our protagonist into a tailspin, and when Tyler appears to him out of thin air, he confirms the Narrator's worst fear: he and Tyler are the same person. Throughout this insane back and forth, the film shows flashes of previous scenes featuring the two characters, revealing that Tyler was never there and the Narrator was interacting with himself.

Upon rewatching the film, you can't help but marvel at how effortlessly it planted this twist from the beginning, with specific lines like “...could you wake up as a different person?” taking on a whole new meaning. The time-jumping also allows us to appreciate the full range of Edward Norton’s performance, switching from his desperate, timid Narrator in the present to the confident, powerful Durden in the past. Once the film has fractured our minds, it tosses us head-first into an unpredictable third act.