Movie Analysis Post

The movie with the camera angles, movements, and transitions that speak to me the most is Fight club. The camerawork used in this film to move the story along and create a visually beautiful picture is amazing. One of my personal favorite shots is of The Narrator in the phone booth. It perfectly illustrates the absolute chaos in the background as a massive explosion just went off inside of his own apartment. However, this contrasts with his own seemingly calm demeanor. This reflects on how the main character doesn’t seem to be completely there mentally, which is later confirmed throughout the film. Another important scene is the high angle shot of Marla Singer lighting her cigarette. Her large, brimmed hat occupies most of the frame and nearly completely covers her face besides her mouth and cigarette. This makes the watcher curious as to who this woman is, and makes her appear even more mysterious. This adds on to her already mysterious persona, with her large shades, hat, black clothing, and overall demeanor. This shot and similar ones establish her persona that is kept up throughout the entire film. Along with the narration, this makes Marla Singer one of the most mysterious characters I've seen, and inspires much curiosity in the watcher. Next up, is the first fight scene that takes place outside of the bar. Tyler Durden asks the narrator to hit him as hard as he can, and the camera turns into a wide angle shot for the rest of the fight. It is a still frame which puts an extra emphasis on the events that are actually occurring on screen. It is also extremely quiet except for the sounds of footsteps on the wet asphalt and the sounds of punches being landed. It eventually turns into an extreme wide angle shot which showcases only Tyler and The Narrator. This foreshadows their close bond that will soon be formed as it symbolizes them together in such a large world. It seems as if there’s nothing else in the world that matters except for them 2 fighting, which is conveyed in the shot. The next shot I have selected is of The Narrator running into a busy street waving around a firearm after escaping from the interrogation inside of the police station. This scene shows the absurdity of everything going on. He runs into oncoming traffic and somehow walks off unscathed. The extreme wide shot shows how miniscule he is compared to the rest of the street. Overall, this shot is a good example of how the rest of the movie is shot. The Narrator is shown to be scared and panicking for the first time in the movie, after he begins to realize that his mind may be playing tricks on him. Totally unrealistic things begin to happen, and he questions his sanity. Him running away from the police station and getting away safely is nothing but another example of that, but in the moment it seems to him that he is escaping from his problems and is succeeding.