Synopsis of the film Fight Club
A young boy who wants to play football becomes entangled in a web of rivalries between the wealthy and the aspirationally wealthy in his community. Will he wake up before his future is destroyed, or will he become a pawn in their hands?
Review of the film Fight Club
A bunch of masked and armed guys approach a college with the goal to attack a few students in the opening scene of Fight Club. Abbas A. Rahmath, a novice director, builds suspense for this confrontation by hastily switching between persons and locations to the sound of an alarm clock.
In the movie, Abbas makes regular use of this strategy. Editor Kripakaran effectively uses the unpleasant feeling, which is similar to waking up from a dream, to keep us in that mindset. Govind Vasantha, the music director, and cameraman Leon Britto provide excellent assistance to the director and editor. Their mix of electronic music, gaana, and western classical music in addition to their raw images give the picture a tactile feel.
The film’s plot, written by Sasi, is all too familiar; it centers on a person who takes the wrong turn and becomes involved in both old and new rivalries. Here, Selva (Vijay Kumar), a budding football player, becomes entangled in a long-standing conflict between a few people in his community. This feud dates back to 2004, when two ambitious men involved in local drug trafficking, Joseph (Avinash Raghudevan, whose intensity reminds us of actor Kishore in his early years) and Kiruba (Shankar Thas), killed Benjamin (Kaarthekeyan Santhanam), the former’s brother and a do-gooder who tried to uplift his people, especially the younger lot, like Selva.
Films about young people from a group being taken advantage of by the socio-political environment have affected Fight Club. These include foreign films like City of God as well as local productions like Subramaniapuram, Vada Chennai, Madras, and even the Vijay Kumar-directed Uriyadi! The screenplay demonstrates a singular concentration, and the filming is elegant. The unvarnished performances, given by relatively unknown performers, serve to establish these characters as real people who we may see in our own communities.
The movie also skillfully incorporates pop culture, from the title credits song “En Jodi Maanja Kuruvi” by Ilaiyaraaja to the hero introduction sequence that takes place in a theater seeing Thalapathy, another movie about an underdog choosing to live a violent life for his people. And what use would stunts have in a movie called Fight Club?
However, there are also moments in the movie—particularly in the early part—when it seems like a celebration of this brutality. As a result, when the protagonist’s aggressive actions cause him personal harm far into the second half, we lose interest in what happens to the characters. This, together with the story’s familiarity, prevent the movie from ascending to the heights to which some of its inspirations were able.
