This is the second of three reviews about mental illness
Previously I talked about how The Aviator portrayed Howard Hughes collapsing into his own world. He had no therapy outside his little world of tics and compulsions, and he never sought help. This time the heroes get therapy in a very interesting way...
The culprit is insomnia in this film, not a traditional form of mental illness, but a deadly one indeed. I have suffered from chronic insomnia and it is as much a nightmare as out of control obsessive compulsive disorder. Lying on the couch in a state of complete exhaustion yet having the inability to cross the REM threshold like the narrator (Edward Norton) does is a feeling all too familiar. Some of us have had the feeling where we can't get a proper night's sleep and are groggy the next day. But the inability to get sleep day after day is a torture I understand too well. It feels like you are unraveling.
When the unnamed narrator, who has severe insomnia, meets ultra-cool Tyler Durden, they decide to (among many other things) start an underground fight club where members can beat the piss out of each other. What's ironic about the movie is the fight club scenes are presented as natural and therapeutic. It's only when they turn to terroristic instincts in the form of "Project Mayhem" does the narrator start to become concerned. It's funny because if some people heard there was an underground fight club many people would (and have) joined. Our society does not offer much in the way of cooling off. We can watch violent movies and sports and play violent video games, but that's a simulation. "Americans are angry and bloodthirsty" is the theme of this movie.
Eventually, the fight club is calming enough to be able to get the narrator to get a good night's rest. Upon waking and thinking clearly he realizes Tyler was a figment of his insomniac-riddled mind. In the end he gives into his subconscious and lets a number of coordinated bombings on credit card companies commence while The Pixies "Where is my Mind" appropriately plays. This film has been called bleak and nihilistic, but I don't think that's the case. The 90's had a spell of WASP characters (American Beauty, The Matrix) who hate their jobs and rebel against the system. This film just took it a step further. If you pretend we don't live in a violent culture just read the news.
Another sign of how dumb and impressionable our culture is is that, as I mentioned, there have been underground fight clubs at kindergartens and schools reported to police. And as an anti-capitalist grunge film there is marketing that has led to unlimited merchandise, two collector's edition blu-rays and officially licensed soap. Maybe that's why everyone in project mayhem is portrayed as mindless slaves. Maybe it's a good sign of well-made satire. Or maybe everyone just needs a good night's rest.
Rating **** out of 4
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