Rendezvous with a Rebel: Definitive David Fincher

In the last 20 years David Fincher has managed to redefine the thriller, reveal magic in a simple love story and uncover the humanness behind a very technical genius. A lush, modern storyteller who began his passion with an 8mm in Marin County, California, Fincher skipped the traditional film school route and began his career loading film into cameras. So how did he go from lackey to genius? By being a genius. His big break came through an ad he directed for the American Cancer Society; he actually shot the commercial to show a fetus smoking a cigarette. It doesn't take a wizard to figure out that this ad grabbed the attention of producers and industry folks.

From there, Fincher lent his creativity to more commercials and eventually music videos. Then he continued to climb the ladder. Shooting vids for everyone from Madonna to Michael Jackson, he started his movie directing career with the universally panned Alien 3. His failure took him away from movies and he returned to music videos. Who could blame him? But luckily for every film buff big and small, Fincher tried his hand at film directing again and brought us Se7en. We don't even need to tell you what that film meant to his career (cue: sound effect of rocket taking off).

A fascinating rise to notoriety and fame, it's easy to understand why his techniques and subtly darker style appeals to the masses. David Fincher has cemented his auteur status in less than 20 years with only 9 narrative films. Some directors can work for 50 years making a movie a year and never come anywhere near Fincher's status or style. But that's just the world we live in, even in the talent pool, there are the haves and the have nots. Luckily for all movie lovers, Fincher has found himself in the former category. Need proof? Check out the following films for a quick reaffirmation.

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Se7en

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The film that cemented Fincher's career as a neo-noir genius Se7en had all the stars aligned. Literally, the stellar cast of Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey paired with an inventive script made for one of the most interesting and talked about films of the mid-90's.

Using a Cops influenced style to the cinematography, the camera peered over shoulders and acted as a backseat observer to the action. Another tactic used by Fincher was a process called bleach bypass. Here the silver in the film stock is not removed, and this simple act created the shadowy images in the film. This film began the certain style and look that has continued throughout Fincher's career.

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Fight Club

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Reuniting Fincher with Pitt, Fight Club is an adaptation of a novel by Chuck Palahniuk. The film received mixed reviews and did not perform very well at the box office. But once the story hit DVD, it evolved into a cult classic.

With its use of violence, Fincher wanted to create a metaphor of the current youth generation and the value system of advertising. And with that, it's no surprise the film became one of the most controversial and talked about films in the late '90's. Fincher did not shy away from using homoerotic undertones to make the twist ending even more surprising.

Fincher shot the film in 138 days, using more than 1,500 rolls of film (three times the average for a Hollywood film). The tone, visuals and even the music made the film completely non-traditional and therefore, completely Fincher.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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Once again, another Pitt/Fincher collaboration makes the list. Fincher always viewed as a darker director was an unusual pick for this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story.

Most of the film was shot in New Orleans using their lush locations to communicate the mood of the South during the earlier half of the 20th century. Utilizing make-up and special effects, Fincher created the reverse aging of Pitt's character that awed audiences and endeared the film to many.

Despite being romantic and fantastical, Fincher still puts his stamp on the film with his creation of complex characters and using the production design to create the mood. This film received 13 Academy Award nominations, including Fincher's first Best Director nom.

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The Social Network

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The Social Network brought together the collaboration of Fincher and celebrated screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Bringing Sorkin's witty script to life, Fincher had to rely on casting relatively unknown young actors to portray those most influential in changing the face of the internet.

Once again, Fincher found a way to go outside his normal dark style to find the darkness and light in his characters. Here Fincher proved himself to not only be a stylistic director, but an actor's director as well. Evoking some of the greatest performances of the year, Fincher actually had his lead actor, Jesse Eisenberg, do one fast-talking scene for 99 takes. In fact, with the script being a little too long for a Hollywood film, Fincher instructed the actors to speak faster in general so he could get every bit more of Sorkin's intelligent script captured.

Never shying away from something too technical, Fincher used two actors to portray the Winklevoss twins. However, instead of casting actual twins, he digitally grafted one actor's face onto the other's body.

One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, The Social Network was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. With this film, Fincher created a phenomenon that continues to be talked about in pop culture.

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Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

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Most recently, Fincher has returned to his dark form by tackling the English-language adaptation of this international bestseller. With the Swedish language adaptations already doing reasonably well in the United States, Fincher's undertaking seems daunting. But even taking the cues from the trailer alone, Fincher has once again returned to his dark, noir style. Instead of tidying up the script to be "less offensive" to the general public, he has kept in the scenes of sodomy and rape. Somehow no matter the subject tackled, Fincher doesn't go mainstream, the mainstream comes to his way of thinking. And The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo proves that once again.

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