Review of American Psycho (2000) by Sausages M — 01 Dec 2013

4 stars? Controversial? Let me explain- as Patrick Bateman, Christian Bale is superb. His portrayal of an empty, sociopathic, dead-inside overcompensating on the outside yuppie is flawless. Compare Patrick's appearance to his peers- he's too perfect, too plastic. Just like the bland music he adores. He's unreal, and says this himself. Consequently, he's just one of the crowd, very probably as is hinted he sucks at his job and only stays in it through nepotism. And one gets the feeling that's why Patrick is... a loser. Gasp! He's actually a loser. I wasn't expecting that, but this idea of style over substance as a form of wild overcompensation is a perfect 80s satire. Stylistically, the film captures the mood of 80s Wall Street New York perfectly, and the cinematography is clever because we really get a sense of the lack of depth, in everything. Bateman strolls through his empty life, hating everyone, mostly himself and acts out in the most extreme fashion. In this way, the film really succeeds.

[if you haven't seen the movie yet, stop here].

Where it failed, for me, was the twist. Not so much what it was, but the way it was handled. It was sign-posted far too obviously in his final rampage. There's an ambiguity there, but not really. It's pretty obvious at the end that all has not been what it seemed- and that very probably our lead character was a totally unreliable narrator acting out fantasies, as crudely illustrated in his filofax. It could be that's not the case, but I'm pretty sure it is. I suspect the only real scene was the one with the nail-gun. Possibly the homeless guy as well.

Despite all this, it's an enjoyable watch, and I can see myself making a point of owning this- because it clearly needs another viewing in the future. I really hope I'll see it differently next time. I suspect I will.