American Psycho

 
 
Director:  
Mary Harron
 
Cast
Christian Bale:   Patrick Bateman
Willem Dafoe:   Det. Donald Kimball
Justin Theroux:   Timothy Bryce
Reese Witherspoon:   Evelyn Williams
Chloë Sevigny:   Jean
Jared Leto:   Paul Allen
Josh Lucas :   Craig McDermott
Bill Sage:   David Van Patten
Samantha Mathis:   Courtney Rawlinson
Matt Ross:   Luis Carruthers
 
 
 
 

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What It's About:
It’s the late 1980’s, and Patrick Bateman is an upper-class fashion obsessed yuppie businessman. He likes going to the latest restaurants, works out incessantly, parties hard, has a hot girlfriend, likes freaky sex and the latest pop music hits. He’s just like any other upper-class yuppie, except that he also likes to torture and kill people.
Well, nobody's perfect!

Review:
When I went and saw this for the first time, my girlfriend and I were the only two laughing. By the time the naked chainsaw wielding scene showed up, I noticed that no one else was laughing, and I looked at everyone around me in the dark theater. It was half-full, consisting mostly of old people and very quiet middle aged participants.
I thought to myself, "What did these people think they were getting into when they bought a ticket for American Psycho?” The old man behind me was looking at me as if I was the American Psycho, because I was laughing out loud at such a diabolical moment.
I loved this movie!
I saw it again a couple months later in a smaller theater. THIS time I wasn't the only one laughing, and noticed it was filled with 20-somethings who seemed to understand that this movie is a satire. I was in my element, and wondered where in the hell these people were opening weekend!
Christian Bale's performance is unparalleled. I cannot see any other actor playing Patrick Bateman - he IS Patrick Bateman! Out-fucking-standing! Originally this was to be an Oliver Stone directed flick with Leo DiCaprio as Bateman. Thank God that didn’t happen! Stone wouldn’t know how to keep the subtle, low-key satire that’s evident throughout the movie’s runtime, and DiCaprio has less impressive acting chops required for many of the reaction shots, and is nowhere near as hot bodied and attractive as Christian Bale.
Instead of focusing on the horrible murders that Bateman commits in the book, Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner decided to make a film version that focuses more on what it was about; the satire of the Reaganite 80's. Harron and Turner did a spectacular job highlighting the satire and internal monologue of Bateman’s insanity, instead of glorifying the over-the-top violence from Brett Easton Ellis’ novel. Had it been a man who directed American Psycho - regardless of whether it became the same movie or not - it would have received even MORE heat from feminists and every other radical activist group that needs something to bitch about.
If there were murder scenes like in the book, it would have made a completely different movie. It might have been good, but it would have been less thought-provoking, and more gorge-inducing.
Harron portrayed masterful direction for American Psycho. She says a lot about what Patrick is thinking/feeling based on how the scene is framed. Take for example the opening scene at the club. He goes to the bar to get some drinks, and the bartender tells him that the stubs he was using are no longer good after a certain time, so he has to pay for the drinks. Right after she says that, she turns around to use the cash register, and we see his reflection in the mirror. As her back is turned, and as the music blares loudly, he says in close-up, “You are a fucking ugly bitch. I want to stab you to death… and play around with your blood.”
Immediately after saying this, the camera goes back to the previous framing setup that brings your eyes away from Bateman and back into the groove of the scene’s mood.
I like, I like! Wonderfully executed. There are many key moments in which Patrick says or does something that is off-kilter, and the angle at which it’s shot when he does these things are completely altered from the rest of the scene. Another example is the dinner scene at Texarkana, and Bateman says, “I like to dissect girls. Did you know I am utterly insane?” And the person he’s eating with doesn’t even reference this phrase, either because he’s too drunk to care, or wasn’t listening, or one other option that I don’t want to spoil to those who haven’t seen .
People always seem to call him by a wrong name, no one pays any REAL attention to anyone, and he’s the one to point out to others who someone else is. His life is centered around looking good, spending well and knowing the latest fashion trends.
With Christian Bale playing the heartless, well-spoken ladykiller, you can’t help but get sucked into his self-centered little world, and drop your jaw at what he gets away with.
After Bateman kills Paul Allen (Jared Leto) for being able to get into Dorsia’s (the newest, ‘hippest’ restaurant) any time he wants, getting the Fisher account, and having a better business card (classic scene; gotta see it to believe it), Detective Richard Kimbell (Willem Dafoe) comes to Allen’s office spaces to investigate. Dafoe seems like he knows more than he’s leading on when he talks to Bateman, and it’s a delight to see the two of them play against each other. Bale is obviously a nervous wreck that’s trying to hide a secret, and Dafoe is the calm and collected Detective that seems to be holding back information that he doesn’t want to tell – just to make him sweat! Once again the crazy closeups on Bateman start up again, showing the panic that resides just under the surface…
Patrick Bateman’s only concerns seem to rely on his possessions and outward appearance. On the outside, he’s smart, handsome, knows and wears the latest fashion, can give you the who’s-who of the latest fads, is a master at self-grooming, and can get pretty much any girl he wants.
Inside he’s a hollow entity, lacking any deep emotion or empathy. It’s what’s inside that needs the renovation.

I love American Psycho. It’s one of my favorite movies. It’s got enough dark humor and flat dialogue that hits the chords of laughter for me to keep me smiling almost the whole time. There are TONS of quotable quotes and memorable moments. The violence isn’t the main focus of the film, which is a good thing considering that it comes from one of the goriest books that I’ve ever read in my entire life. There is some violence, but it’s mostly suggestive, which makes it even more disturbing in a lot of ways (what’s with the two women in his dark apartment, and him saying “We’re not through yet”…? I love the ambiguity!), and that helps focus the movie more on what the better theme of the book is: the satire of the Reagan era!
Way to go Harron!
And Christian Bale… get on with your bad self! You were robbed of an Oscar nomination, let alone winning it. But I don’t give much of a damn about the Shitademy Awards anyways.

Grade: A

********Spoilers In This Section. Don’t Read if You Don’t Want to Be Spoiled!*******

11/17/05 Update: The DVD commentary statements of the murders:

Here's the straight up word-of-mouth from the director and the screenwriter (Harron and Turner)... in the MOVIE, he did commit the murders, because they thought it would be a cop-out to have it all in his head, especially since the recent release of Fight Club already played that game and became popular. They felt that for the movie, it would be better if he committed the murders, since it would be less of a cinematic cop-out that way.
In the BOOK, it's all in his head. Guinevere Turner and Mary Harron both know this, but for the movie... yes, Bateman killed them.
Continue reading if you want to read more about my thoughts before I got this information a few months back...

The debate - Did Bateman Do It?

A lot of peeps seem bothered by the ending. Some say the whole movie has Bateman really committing the murders, and another group says that’s NOT the case, that it’s all in his head. There are some things to think about once it all ends. I didn’t like the open-ended conclusion for quite some time, but now I appreciate it. It teetered on a very fine line between making it all seem real, and proving to the audience that is was all in his head. It’s open ended to make you wonder which theory is true, and to justify it going both ways is a lot more difficult than just making it one or the other. In the end you can justify your thoughts on why he did do it, and why you think that it’s in his head. But there are some things that happen which can help you on your decision one way or another. Here’s a list of some clues that might help:
People are too concerned about themselves to really know anyone else. How many times did Patrick get referred to by a different name?
“Hey, Halberstram…”
”Hey Patrick, why did he call you Marcus?” Patrick smiles, “Mistletoe alert!”
“Good evening, Mr. Smith! Burning the midnight oil?”
“Davis. I'm not one to bad-mouth anyone, your joke was amusing. But come on, man, you had one fatal flaw: Bateman's such a dork…”

How many of his ‘friends’ don’t know who he’s talking about when he mentions someone?
Don’t you think your own lawyer would know you? Do you think that by paying that much an hour he wouldn’t? Maybe sometimes, lawyers say things to their clients to help lead them into another way of thinking, to keep them out of trouble with the law. Let’s hope your lawyer can take care of things for you if you mess up real bad. Maybe Harold Carnes told Patrick that his message was a funny ‘joke’ to make Patrick understand the implication that he got away with it this time, things have been covered up, so if anyone asks, nothing has happened. So, the message was a joke from someone named ‘Davis’ to cover Bateman’s ass.
- Now let’s throw this theory into another direction. Carnes said he had dinner with Paul Allen just ten days ago, so it’s not possible that Patrick killed him. Could it be that he mistakened someone ELSE to be Paul, just as he’s mistakened Patrick to be Davis?

Mrs. Wolfe asks Patrick if he’s the 2:00 appointment to see the apartment. The whole apartment is clean, but Mrs. Wolfe seems wary of Patrick, acting like maybe there’s something she knows about him. Perhaps – like Winston Wolfe in Pulp Fiction - she was the hired cleanup crew to take care of Bateman’s mess, and knew exactly who he was, and was telling him to leave before some explaining had to be done. - Or maybe she was just nervous because of the look on his face.
Detective Kimball sure acts like he knows that Patrick is hiding something, and is playing around with him. Or maybe he just has a sense of humor, because he’s always got a half-smile on his face that suggests a friendly demeanor. But maybe that smile is just because he's hiding what he knows, and likes to make Bateman uncomfortable.
When he says crazy stuff to people, they don’t hear him or they don’t listen. “Murders and executions, mostly…”, “You are a fucking ugly bitch…”, “I like to dissect girls…”, etc… When he says these things, the angle is out of synch with the rest of the scene. People don’t seem to hear him correctly, or hear what he says at all. Is this because he didn’t really say it, or because of the loud music or drunken stupor? I think it’s because they aren’t paying attention. If he DID imagine saying such things, then why did the Dumb Model hear him say "mergers and acquisitions?"
Jean (Chloe Sevigny) finds his diary that’s full of drawings of mutilated people. Is this because he’s imagined all these killings, or because he’s recalling what’s he’s done?
Is the lock of blonde hair he holds as he’s doing the crossword puzzle just his imagination, just like the severed head in the fridge must be, too?
He’s obviously a schizophrenic, what-with an ATM telling him to feed it a stray cat. But is this really the case, or is he just imagining the ATM telling him that, and it was on the screen just to tell the audience what Bateman considered to be an amusing thought?
Don’t forget Bateman’s final confession:
“There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil; all the mayhem I have caused, and my utter indifference toward it, I have now surpassed.
“My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact, I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no escape.
“But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis. I gain no deeper knowledge of myself, no new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. There has been no reason for me to tell you any of this.
”This confession has meant nothing.”
He’s confessing that he that he killed these people, isn’t he? And he says that he still wants to inflict pain on others, that he doesn’t care about the fact that he got away with it THIS TIME, but maybe next time he won’t. He doesn’t care. He’ll keep doing what he’s done. He hasn’t turned over a new leaf. He’s a psycho.

I read somewhere that Ellis wrote the book with the intention of making Patrick Bateman crazy, and did the murders in his head.
Supposedly, Mary Harron says that he did commit the murders.

If these statements are true, then which are we supposed to believe from the MOVIE?
I have a best friend who's read the book 5 times and says that Bateman did kill them. I think that in the book he didn't kill anyone.
Well, either way, it's a killer movie! And I like to lean towards him having done it, and his lawyer covered it up for him. Mostly to keep from the media paying attention to other people that Bateman is associated with, and also because if he did get caught killing all those people, then the reporters would end up giving more attention to Bateman's lifestyle, thus exposing the fucked up lives of those around him.
That's what makes me believe that Bateman did commit the murders, and his lawyer covered it up for him. Saves the hassle that ensues from such a big news story.
Love it or hate it; accept that it’s in his mind or not – I love this movie.

Reviewed: 9/29/04