The camera is facing a refrigerator, the audience listen to aural elements of some indistinctive sounds, and a hand opens the door of the fridge; the camera zooms in and takes a shot of the interior of the fridge, spontaneously pans to a bottle of beer enthusiastically pulled out by the hand.
David Fincher’s style of filmmaking might be palatably linear, but he has an impeccable ability to surprise and even challenge his audience by using confounding narratives, peculiar characters, painstakingly created sets and more importantly edgy camera. Be it be an intense and captivating thriller Seven, a preternaturally arcane and provocative Fight Club, or a realistically detailed and dramatic Social Network, he has taken his art of film making to apex and culminated the climax into the best possible denouement. As a filmmaker, he also has anomalous penchant of focusing on particular objects and taking close-ups and more often than not, an audience would observe close-ups of interior of a fridge in his films. The astounding capability of making film with little movement of camera and depicting realism even without taking shots by handheld camera makes him an aberrantly outstanding as a film director. He is also one of those filmmakers who hasn’t fallen into rut and has reinvented his craftsmanship in different films.
In his must watch oeuvre, there are the films that completely standout in their archetypes –
Seven [1995]
Backed by a bleak cinematography making the sets perpetually gloomy, tight screenplay, enigmatic characters and of course an engrossing storyline in which a serial killer marauds people for successive murders and two detectives of completely opposite traits are delegated to catch him. The film ends up with a shocking revelation.
Fight Club [1999]
This can be easily tagged as David Fincher’s magnum opus. Based on the novel of the same title by Chuck Palahniuk, this film, in which the protagonist who plays a white-collar guy fed up with the capitalistic lifestyle undergoes a transformation when he meets a soap maker called Tyler Durden; goes on to confound the audience with its psychologically challenging narratives and recondite storytelling. The film ends with a fervent climax. This undoubtedly the best film by David Fincher.
Zodiac [2007]
It is a meticulously crafted film backed by rich digital cinematography. this film in which a cartoonist turned an amateur sleuth gets obsessed with tracking a serial killer who calls himself Zodiac, has a runtime of almost two hours and forty minutes, but still manages to hold the audience at the edge of their seats by its gripping storytelling.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [2008]
Comprehensively justify its name, this curiosity inducing film in which a man starts ageing backwards; happens to be one must watch drama by David Fincher.
The Social Network [2010]
Based on the life of Mark Zuckerberg and creation of an ultra addictive social network that Facebook is, this film amazes with display of witty dialogue writing and convictional direction of David Fincher. The film thrives on realistic portrayal of human behaviour.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo [2011]
This suspense drama has one of the most iconic female characters of 2000-2010 decade. She plays the girl with the dragon tattoo, who is a troubled investigator and hacker with who a journalist ties up to research about a woman who is missing since 40 years. The film is based on the novel by the same name.
Gone Girl [2014]
It is a suspense mystery in which a man has to face the music of nervy and fervid media, only to be suspected as a culprit. The film raises a lot of questions and successfully answers all of them. With David Fincher’s widescreen camerawork and immaculate frames, this film becomes a decent watch.
David Fincher’s filmography may not be as long as other great directors, but his films are immortal and he has a mammoth of a fan club. May he keep putting the audiences at the edge of the seats for years to come.
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