American Psycho (2000)

A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.

Director:

Mary Harron

Writers:

Bret Easton Ellis (novel), Mary Harron (screenplay),

Stars:

Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Bale	...	Patrick Bateman
Justin Theroux	...	Timothy Bryce
Josh Lucas	...	Craig McDermott
Bill Sage	...	David Van Patten
Chloë Sevigny	...	Jean
Reese Witherspoon	...	Evelyn Williams
Samantha Mathis	...	Courtney Rawlinson
Matt Ross	...	Luis Carruthers
Jared Leto	...	Paul Allen
Willem Dafoe	...	Det. Donald Kimball
Cara Seymour	...	Christie
Guinevere Turner	...	Elizabeth
Stephen Bogaert	...	Harold Carnes
Monika Meier	...	Daisy
Reg E. Cathey	...	Al, the Derelict

Storyline

Patrick Bateman, a young, well to do man working on wall street at his father's company kills for no reason at all. As his life progresses his hatred for the world becomes more and more intense.

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Plot Keywords:

fear | materialism | violence | psycho killer | decolletage | 

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Taglines:

I think my mask of sanity is about to slip

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality, drug use and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Cantonese

Release Date:

14 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Psicópata americano

Filming Locations:

Boston Club - 4 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£749,526 (UK) (21 April 2000)

Gross:

ESP 466,785,361 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Am Psycho Productions, Edward R. Pressman Film, Lions Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, the novel was considered for the possibility of a TV show on NBC, starring Kevin Dillon. However due to ownership, the film was eventually made. This was later squeezed into an in joke on Entourage, starring Kevin Dillon.

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Goofs

The TV that is shown at the end of the movie with President Reagan speaking is a late '90s model of Sony Trinitron.

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Quotes

Patrick Bateman: Not quite blonde, are we? More of a dirty blonde.

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Connections

Referenced in How I Met Your Mother: The Magician's Code: Part 2 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"The Greatest Love Of All"
Written by Linda Creed and Michael Masser
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra (as The London Philharmonic Orchestra)
Courtesy of K-Tel International and EMI Music Publishing

User Reviews

Cruelty and Christian Bale

A very funny horror flick. A worthy companion piece to its literary roots. A phenomenal, fearless performance by Christian Bale that, in a way, cleared up my questions about this versatile British actor. I could never quite warm up to him. Not even in "Little Women". Now, Bale as Patrick Bateman, revealed the reason. It is the cruelty around his mouth. His smiles are chilling and they work to perfection in this, his yuppie modern monster.His actions have the pristine shallowness of his business cards and the disgusting taste of his self awareness. You don't feel sorry for him, the way one did for Norman Bates. No, his character is unredeemable. His rough sex with two women while he rides one of them looking at himself in the mirror is one of the most disturbing film moments I've ever seen. I wonder if Bale will ever be able to play goodness, convincingly.