David Fincher’s Outstanding Career

Over the years, David Fincher has made a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s most talented and dedicated filmmakers. Any list of the best directors isn’t completed without his name, as he is the maestro of some of the most popular cinematic masterpieces in the 90s and 2000s.

Fincher created some true masterpieces and formed his own unique art line. He has a reputation as an exacting, talented and extremely precise director. There is no questioning the success of his films or the fact that some of them may be regarded as eternal symbols and flagships, even though he hasn’t received an Oscar yet.

While some tend to limit it to crime and thriller films, there are times when he steps outside of his comfort zone and makes a film that slaps his critics in the face. Anyone who has closely followed Fincher’s career knows that he is a skilled filmmaker who is capable of creating dramas of the finest level and winning awards, but he loves thrillers and crime pictures because he is genuinely passionate about them. Let’s begin to decipher the mosaic of David Fincher’s career and films and see how his style has evolved and matured into such greatness.

David Fincher Career

Did you know that David Fincher’s trophy rack includes a Grammy Award? Yes, that’s what happened as Fincher started his career directing music videos, and his approach quickly caught people’s attention.

Fincher collaborated with The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Don Henley, and Aerosmith as a music video director and instantly burst onto the scene and won awards thanks to his bold and creative approach, which fused cutting-edge technology with a sharp sense of narrative. He then soon returned to his first love, cinema, and was able to prove himself and establish his footing after his first professional and personal disappointment in Alien 3.

Within the art and artist community, David Fincher is known as a master of the craft of visual storytelling who pays attention to detail, examines every element with uncompromising precision, and explores the human psyche to its deepest point. For more than thirty years, he put in an extensive amount of effort to become one of the most recognised and respected filmmakers.

David Fincher’s Career Evolution

The Denver, Colorado-born and raised American director manufactured a number of very popular films, including Se7en, Fight Club, and The Social Network, which grew on to become modern classics and revolutionise the cinema industry.

In his films, themes of belonging and obsession have all been addressed by director Fincher. He also has consistently shown a great understanding of human psychology and influenced a generation of filmmakers with his distinctive visual style, characterised by subdued colours, subtle camera movements and elaborate compositions. The capacity of Fincher to deeply comprehend his characters and bravely dig into their hopes and concerns is what genuinely distinguishes his work.

David Fincher has once again demonstrated with his most recent picture, Mank, that he is a visionary who is not afraid to handle challenging and complex subject matter with understanding, empathy and an unmatched sense of style. 

David Fincher’s Methodology

Each artist has his own tools, methodology, and way of telling stories, and if he does not have something that distinguishes his/her style, then he is not an authentic artist. That is why David Fincher is one of the most significant filmmakers of all time, thanks to his talent in using cinematography to evoke a wide range of emotions, create curiosity and anticipation, and draw characters vivid and vibrant. 

Although a lot of Fincher’s films have succeeded in putting us on the edge of our chairs, that’s not the only magic factor in his masterpieces. If we put Fincher’s directorial style under the microscope and refute its magical touch and components, we will find:

1. David Fincher insists that his work be carried out as he sees it, not as a producer or an actor sees it, no matter how famous they are. He does not give in to any pressure, even if it costs him to postpone or cancel the whole project.
2. David Fincher willfully ignores the shaky camera. He has relied on unsteady filming just a few times, and Se7en is his most moving camera film, with a total of just five scenes!
3. Fincher’s approach to composing scenes is inventive, sometimes placing characters off-centre, incorporating asymmetrical frames to create a sense of unease and tension, or sometimes resorting to extreme close-ups.
4. David Fincher sees cinematic frames as a means of communicating a thousand meanings, so he cleverly incorporates symbols and patterns that add layers of meaning to his movies. So, we need to delve into the details of its formations in order to understand his signals and how they reflect the feelings of the characters and their inner turmoil.
5. David Fincher is a master of using low light, and one of his most important tools is creating a balance between light and dark to convey the emotions he wants the audience to experience.
6. Fincher prefers to choose unsaturated colours that evoke feelings of gloom and unease and create an emotionally charged atmosphere.
7. Fincher’s inherent passion for thrills makes him perfectly capable of skillfully manipulating the duration and tempo of each scene until he reaches the desired degree of tension.

David Fincher’s Best Movies

After we quickly got acquainted with David Fincher’s career, his arsenal of tools, and his distinctive techniques, it is time to list his most prominent works and cinematic masterpieces.

9. Mank – 2020

• Running time: 2h 11m
• Genre: Biography, Drama and Comedy
• Writer: Jack Fincher
• Rating: R
• IMDb rating: 6.8
• Stars: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, and Lily Collins

David Fincher has returned from a 6-year absence with a project that is entirely different from any of his previous work, with a screenplay that he has adapted from his father, Jack Fincher.

The return of Fincher Jr. was not normal, as he chose to raise the bar for himself and present a black-and-white film. He excels with methodical monochrome photography, clever editing and perfect lighting. The only criticism of the film is that it lacks the fluidity needed to tell such a story, and therefore, it is not for all tastes.

The film is about the life of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish his screenplay for Citizen Kane. Unlike most modern black-and-white films, Mank is not a love letter to cinema; it is a study of the film industry in the 1930s. Mank was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including directing, and won Oscars for Production Design and Cinematography.

8. The Game – 1997

• Running time: 2h 9m
• Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
• Writers: John Brancato and Michael Ferris
• Rating: R
• IMDb rating: 7.7
• Stars: Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger, and Sean Penn

This is one of David Fincher’s highly underrated movies. Fincher manages to be both terrifying and shocking and manages to draw tension, trauma, and psychological terror without resorting to bloodshed on screen, which, in our opinion, is a kind of genius.

It’s unfortunate that this film came out following Se7en‘s huge popularity, but that didn’t stop it from enjoying the success it deserved when it became accessible on DVD.

The story is about Nicholas Van Orton, a very rich, very lonely banker who receives a birthday gift from his estranged addict brother: an entry ticket to an unusual entertainment and mystery game. Nicholas accepts to embark on the game out of boredom but finds his life is in danger.

7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – 2008

• Running time: 2h 46m
• Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
• Writers: Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, and F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Rating: PG-13
• IMDb rating: 7.8
• Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Tilda Swinton

This movie may be slow-cooked by today’s cinematic standards, but it certainly isn’t tedious. `It is a poetic story about the journey of life and meeting death as an inevitable friend for each of us.

David Fincher stepped out of the frame of mystery in this film and was able to provide a hearty meal of feelings. He also succeeded in leading the actors to deliver very elaborate acting performances. The movie obtained overwhelmingly positive reviews and was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including best picture, directing, and acting. It won two Oscars for makeup and visual effects.

The fantasy story is about a child who is born an old man and gets younger over time. One of the most sensational scenes in that story is when the man Benjamin Button and the woman Daisy, his childhood companion, meet in the middle of the road; she grows up, and he gets younger. In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fincher abandons tension and tends to make everything shrouded in sadness and emotion.

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – 2011

• Running time: 2h 38m
• Genre: Crime, Drama, and Mystery
• Writers: Steven Zaillian and Stieg Larsson
• Rating: R
• IMDb rating: 7.8
• Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney, Mara, and Christopher Plummer

Fincher returns to his beloved dark worlds, remaking the best-selling novel that was previously made into a Swedish film. Despite the success of the Swedish version before, David Fincher’s version was distinguished by being more detailed, intricate, cohesive, eager to fill holes, and certainly the largest budget. Nevertheless, opinions about the film were sharply divided, either with celebration or severe criticism and bias towards the European version.

Whether you belong to this or that team, there is no denying that the movie is entertaining and has a dark and wild atmosphere. The story is about a wealthy industrialist man who asks journalist Mikael Blomqvist to write a biography about his family, with the hidden intention of finding out what happened to his niece who went missing 40 years ago, and he proposes the help of a talented antisocial hacker Lisbeth Salander.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was nominated for five Academy Awards and won an Oscar for Editing.

5. Zodiac – 2007 

• Running time: 2h 37m
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery.
• Writers: James Vanderbilt and Robert Graysmith
• Rating: R
• IMDb rating: 7.7
• Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo

Due to the fact that it is based on actual accidents and crimes, and David Fincher came as close to capturing them as he could on screen, it may be one of his most exhausting films to watch.

Watching this movie steals time, as it is engaging, dramatic, and captivating, especially in its second half. It is definitely one of Fincher’s best films—the suspense reaches the ceiling, and the acting performance is astonishing.

The movie is based on the real story of a serial killer who operated in the late 1960s and early 1970s and sent mocking notes to the police as they were trying to find him.

4. Gone Girl – 2014

• Running time: 2h 29m
• Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery.
• Writer: Gillian Flynn
• Rating: R
• IMDb rating: 8.1
• Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, and Neil Patrick Harris

Stop reading here and go watch Gone Girl if you haven’t yet. The aesthetic and enjoyment of this movie come from not knowing anything about it. But if you’ve already seen it and are looking for analysis, we can cut it short by saying it’s the thriller as it should be. All the twists and turns are unexpected, the characters are bold, and the dramatic performances are outstanding.

David Fincher has managed to turn an already annoying story into something darker yet entertaining and easy to follow. Fincher followed his favourite method of indirect satire, dissecting modern marriage and satirising media bias. The story begins when Nick reports that his wife, Amy, has suddenly disappeared on their fifth wedding anniversary. With investigations, his strange behaviour becomes clear, so a question is asked: did Nick kill his wife?

Rosamund Pike received an Oscar nomination for her performance in Gone Girl.

3. Se7en – 1995

• Running time: 2h 7m
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery.
• Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker
• Rating: R
• IMDb rating: 8.6
• Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and Kevin Spacey

It is the film that puts David Fincher in the spotlight and brings him on the path of superstar directors. Fincher was able to lead a distinguished cast and make one of the best crime thrillers of the ’90s by using all the techniques he loves and the experience he gained. The overwhelming success of this film came to heal the wounds of the failure of his first film.

The atmosphere of Se7en is dark, claustrophobic and often nauseating, with a haunting finale. The story is about a young, impulsive detective who moves to replace a veteran detective who is steps away from retirement, and they partner to solve a murder mystery that develops into a series of crimes linked to the Seven Deadly Sins. Se7en was nominated for only a single Oscar, and it didn’t win it.

2. The Social Network – 2010

• Running time: 2h
• Genre: Drama, Biography
• Writers: Aaron Sorkin and Ben Mezrich
• Rating: PG-13
• IMDb rating: 7.8
• Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake

This is a very entertaining and interesting story, though without the usual David Fincher gimmicks. Yet some magic in the narrative still made the ordinary story energetic, lively, and exciting. It’s one of David Fincher’s most technically sophisticated pictures, and it was hailed as one of the best films of the twenty-first century by legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

The film begins with a breathless meeting and ends with a genius symbolic scene, and in between, it displays quick and interesting events and more than wonderful dialogue. The story follows Mark Zuckerberg’s rise to become one of the youngest billionaires ever after creating Facebook as a social networking platform. The film deals with the concepts and themes of friendship, business, loyalty, and power. The Social Network received five Academy Award nominations, including one for directing, and took home the prize for Best Adapted Screenplay.

1. Fight Club – 1999

• Running time: 2h 19m
• Genre: Drama
• Writers: Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
• Rating: R
• IMDb rating: 8.8
• Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Meat Loaf

It is an antique—the older it gets, the more valuable and appreciated it becomes. It’s an absolute classic made to be watched over and over again and re-discovered each time. For many, Fight Club is the Manifesto of a generation of young men with tired souls as they found themselves in its outlandish shots, dark atmosphere, and insane narrative. In this movie, David Fincher successfully demonstrates that he is a top-tier director and that Se7en‘s huge success wasn’t a coincidence or a stroke of luck.

Fight Club is a maddening, raw, testosterone-infused ride that critiques consumer society and class notions. The story is about an employee who has everything but suffers from anxiety and insomnia and attends support groups to calm himself down. From there, he meets an eccentric woman who is like him and makes his life more bearable. At the same time, he crosses paths with a wild, crazy, and completely different soap maker, and together, they start a fight club to get rid of their problems. Fight Club was nominated for only a single Oscar, and it didn’t win it.

If you got here, you must have appreciated the greatness and artistic value of David Fincher’s movies as one of the best, most authentic and distinguished directors. Don’t miss watching or re-watching the movies we mentioned above. Look for hidden codes and messages, follow camera movement, pay attention to light distribution, and enjoy your time.