Review of American Psycho (2000) by Sean L — 10 Mar 2018

Psychopathy in the super yuppie 1980s financial district, where a wolf in sheep's clothing runs rampant through the sea of fake grins and phony networking events. Christian Bale really made his name as a leading man in the role of Patrick Bateman, a move that looks bold and prescient in hindsight as many warned it would be career suicide.

He's the motor behind this story, on-screen for basically the duration, and able to balance scenes of dark, black humor with later episodes that require him to come completely unhinged. The first hour is unspeakably funny, engulfing us in Bateman's daily ritual and knee-jerk lust for violence, in the masks he wears to pass muster and the hopelessly superficial assholes he hangs around with.

It's absolutely loaded with classic scenes and quotable lines, like "Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?", "Don't just stare at it, eat it" and "My god, it's even got a watermark" and I could joyfully revisit any one of those snippets at the drop of a hat.

Every time we start to think it's okay to cheer the serial killer, though, he pulls a blood-chilling stunt that makes us question our own judgment. As the film unfolds, he grows increasingly sloppy, desperately chasing the dragon until he's in so deep that there seems to be no escape.

The climax is a big tonal swing, and though it flirts with the idea of a wild twist at the very end, a lot is left to the viewer and I don't think it completely arrives where it means to. Still, it's a relentlessly entertaining movie that toys with a broad range of emotions and gives us one of the decade's most memorable performances.

I could watch this just about any time.