It has become a film overshadowed by a hip following. But before it was tainted by Adderall-riddled middle schoolers and art school wannabes, “Fight Club” was an astonishing piece of cinema.

Based off Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, Fincher’s “Fight Club” takes the audience through the unraveling life of an unnamed man (Edward Norton) — sometimes referring to himself as Jack — and his internal battles. His job is generic, his apartment is generic and his life as a whole is generic.

With his lackluster life comes a lack of sleep. Insomnia keeps him up all hours, and, oddly enough, the only thing he finds comfort in is his support groups for diseases and illnesses he doesn’t have. It is at these groups that he meets Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), a chain-smoking, empty shell of a woman. Her intentions are the same as his, but her non-discreet ways and intrusion into his little comfort bubble reverses his life back to wide-eyed nights.

After splitting up the support groups with Marla, in order to get some sleep, he meets an interesting character on a business trip flight by the name of Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). A relationship is quickly formed that goes from friendly encounter, to living together, to beating the living hell out of each other — for therapeutic purposes, of course — in only a few days. It is from here that his life starts to spin violently out of control.

“Fight Club” is one of my favorite films of all time. It has been since the first time I saw it and still remains a top my list every time I watch it. David Fincher’s visual style is nothing short of brilliant. The dark ambiance of the entire film mixed with the beautiful lighting and seamless transitions is enough for me in itself. Throw in the unnecessary but stunning, spinning, speed-altered sex scene and you have cinematic gold.

Then you have the acting. The casting and performances are pitch perfect. Edward Norton and Brad Pitt make a wonderful onscreen team and I can’t help but feel like both were gypped out of Oscar consideration — although the film’s awful box office performance may have had something to do with it. Norton combines pathetic and respectable into a believable character, and Pitt is incredibly grimy but remains so charismatic.

Beyond the leads, the supporting cast is just as flawless. Helena Bonham Carter couldn’t be a better fit for Marla Singer. It is as though Palahniuk wrote the character in anticipation of Bonham Carter playing her in a film adaptation. To me, it is by far her best performance of her career. Then there are smaller characters played by the likes of Meat Loaf — yes, the singer — and Jared Leto — I suppose he’s a singer too, kind of. They as well are hard to describe without using the word perfect.

Now I know “Fight Club” is based on a novel and the consensus is that film adaptations are never as good as the book. In this instance, though, I have to disagree. It is worth noting that I read the written version after I saw the film, but I think that without Fincher’s visuals, the story has less of an impact. If anyone else had made this, it would have been a lesser film. Palahniuk’s story is central but the entire mood and feel of the plot is created through Fincher’s filmmaking. It may not be absolutely true to the source material, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. In Fincher I trust.