American Psycho (2000) User Reviews

American Psycho is not a story about murder

[DanielStephens1988 · 9/10 · 15 July 2019]

The film looks to examine our own distorted points of view or detachments from reality. Like Patrick Bateman, we may be trapped craving the approval of others and denying ourselves the ability to distinguish fantasies from our reality. People are obsessed with how the others perceive them likewise in American Psycho Bateman achieves no catharsis, he's trapped in his own personal hell because he requires the recognition of the other yuppies to confirm his identity as a murderer. The irony is that Feynman's real crimes may as well be fantasy. The lack of acknowledging his reality drives Bateman further into madness and existential despair

It's about yuppie culture, the melding of identity, and the craving to stand out from a superficial homogenized society. Bateman's interpretation of the world is skewed by his inflated ego and his evident psychosis as well as presumably multiple mental illnesses. Bateman is a killer, but still, he's not the killer he thinks he is, as he goes insane he can't distinguish reality from fantasy. His over the top chainsaw massacre style killings may be an aestheticized elaboration on partial truths, ultimately the film doesn't care. The more significant point of the movies absurdity is that within his society Batemans not the psycho at all he's just one more normal guy amidst a horde of uncaring detached from reality, secretly discontented American psychos. Bateman is surrounded by like-minded superficial people obsessed with all the wrong things like making impossible reservations at Dorsia and the tasteful thickness of their business cards. Within the homogenized upper-class elite identities blur as everyone strives after a generic yet highly specific image of success.

Everyone we see in Bateman's company appears to be the same person. It's no wonder that identity is mistaken continuously and swapped throughout the film. The lawyer has mistaken Paul Allen or perhaps Batman has killed the wrong person becomes not only plausible but also an expression of the general confusion resulting from the loss of individual identity.

Meanwhile, although Batman tries like the rest to fit in, the emptiness of his lifestyle also fuels a craving to stand out. To escape the conformity that he on some level despises Batman leads a second life as a killer, where he's unfettered from the bounds of society. Although he actually wants to be seen as a murderer as someone different from the rest of society Bateman is denied even the satisfaction by every self-absorbed yuppie he meets. When he's seen stuffing a body into the trunk of a car, the witness is only interested in the bag.

This is a great movie. Look for the subtext under the dialogue.

Strangely satisfying

[nph19 · 9/10 · 12 October 2018]

One of the weirdest movies I've seen. Saw on video tape when it came out then recently watched it again 18 years later. Forgot how fun it is to watch. The absurdity of Bale's character Patrick Bateman's shallowness and preoccupation with superficial things like how upset he gets over a colleague having a better business card than him makes this movie comedic while he's slicing up victims. Still not sure about whether or not all of the things happening were all in his head. I guess that's up for anyone's interpretation of the story. Very well done and one of Bale's best performances as if he's ever performed badly.

"I think my mask of sanity is about to slip."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 26 August 2012]

I've been letting my thoughts for this film percolate now for about twenty four hours, so before any more time goes by I'll try to get it all down here. I thought there was something up with the picture when Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) and his cronies were comparing business cards for the first time. I got the impression that it was all a sham, that none of them were actually Vice Presidents of Pierce and Pierce, and that they were actually role playing the position of executives in anticipation of an eventual promotion. Bateman himself never seemed to do any work, other than having his secretary line up his appointments to meet associates or clients so he could spend additional time not working some more.

The bigger tip off that this was possibly all just an imaginary story was the 'Feed me a stray cat' scene. By this time it was pretty well established that Bateman was unhinged, but the question is, to what degree. Did he really engage in those prior killing sprees or did he just imagine it? Or a third possibility, was he envisioning what it would be like to go completely berserk if all bets were off and he could completely get away with it. By the time the story's over, I think you'd have to be open to all these various interpretations, because in the 'real' world, you wouldn't have a realtor showing an apartment where bodies hung in the closet just days before.

Going in, I had some trepidation when the DVD opened to a menu screen suggesting a splatter flick, and if I'm not mistaken, an image of a chain saw somewhere along the way. I've seen a couple of slasher/gore films in my time, and though I'm not that squeamish (any more), that kind of stuff does nothing for me. So anticipating a chain saw scene, I could only groan at the impossibility of the physics involved in poor Jean (Chloe Sevigny) taking a direct bull's eye hit like that at the bottom of the staircase. Just one more suggestion that this wasn't really happening.

And what of Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe)? What happened to him? Was this Bateman's guilt becoming manifest, either because of an actual murder or because of his own malicious thoughts? Generally I get really upset about movies like this because they tamper with one's ability to follow a coherent story and come to a reliable conclusion about what happened in it. But then again, it's got the word 'Psycho' in the title, so I guess all bets are off. Personally, twenty five dollars for a couple of drinks at a trendy New York City night club is about as psycho as I'll ever get.

Not everyone will understand what this movie is trying to say.

[rahulsharma-95586 · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

The author of the novel and the director of the film both say that it wasn't in his head. All of the yuppies dress the same, act the same, have the same job position (vice president), and have the same haircuts, which is why everyone always confused Patrick with someone else. Additionally, the satire was to show that everyone at the time was extremely narcissistic and superficial. The landlord of the apartment cleaned up all of the bodies and gore that Bateman left behind in order to protect the property value. The point is that Bateman is an actual psychopath who lives in a society that's somehow even more crazy than he is.

Very good

[MovieAddict2016 · 9/10 · 1 July 2005]

In 1991, Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel "American Psycho" took the world by storm - women accused it of being misogynist, sexist filth and others were understandably shaken by its brutal and graphic depictions of unprovoked violence and torture.

Set in the 1980s, the book follows the story of a 27-year-old Harvard graduate named Patrick Bateman, who goes on a killing spree and murders "twenty, maybe forty people." It was originally slated for circulation in 1990, but Random House pulled out of distribution, fearing backlash. It was later released as part of a Vintage Series, and quickly sold over 250,000 copies, becoming one of the most popular (and, to some, important) literary works of our time.

In the movie, Welsh actor Christian Bale portrays Bateman gleefully tongue-in-cheek, whether it's confessing to manslaughter over the phone ("I just had to kill a lot of people!") or dancing to Huey Lewis and the News' "Fore" album before hitting an associate over the head with an axe.

Patrick is a troubled guy. On the surface, he appears to be normal - he's a Wall Street broker with a secretary, an expensive apartment suite, his own limo and a fancy business card. But on the inside, he's a monster - complete with an insatiable blood lust and lack of empathy for fellow human beings. (If he can indeed be classified as one.) As a film and a novel, "American Psycho" is an attack on the absurdities of the '80s yuppie era - sometimes the satire isn't very subtle, in fact it's often made very clear, but I liked it. Because the movie is so eccentric and over-the-top, and Bale is so loony and maniacal, the satire needs to be equally strong - and it is. Whether it's business men drooling over each other's fetishistic business cards or Patrick discussing the nuances of modern pop music before killing more victims, "American Psycho" hits strong and hard - this is a great, overwhelming cinematic and visual experience. It cannot be condemned for being unsubtle - it never was.

The performances are wonderful. Bale is superb as Bateman, totally embodying the character. As a man bewildered by his environment, and wanting only desperately to fit in, Bateman listens to Genesis and "Hip to Be Square"; finally we have proof that too much Phil Collins and Huey Lewis will turn you into the next Ed Gein.

Perhaps some fans of the novel will dislike Bale's performance (at times, it almost seems comical, such as when he murders his coworker Paul Allen, played by Jared Leto). But I thought it was the perfect mix of introspection, self-hatred, outer-loathing, lust, conformity and schizophrenia. Bale manages to capture all of this perfectly, and by the end of the film, I could not imagine anyone else in the role.

Willem Dafoe, Chloe Sevigny and Reese Witherspoon all have co-starring roles, but at the end of the day it is Bale who really drives this film home - he's the reason it's worth seeing, and in part the reason it exceeds beyond the typical restraints of its genre.

Since its release, many critics have accused "American Psycho" of being a watered-down version of the book, being both "politically correct" and "lacking satire." However, I don't recall the last time I saw a man beat a dog to death with the heel of his shoe in a mainstream motion picture. Or chase after a prostitute completely naked, wielding a bloodied chainsaw. Or hold a gun to a cat's head and threaten to feed it to an ATM machine.

In fact, when "American Psycho" was previewed before the Motion Picture Association of America, they gave it an NC-17 rating - not for its violence, as one might expect, but rather for its threesome scene between Patrick and two prostitutes.

Director Mary Harron cut footage from the film and finally managed to achieve an R-rating, but on a new "Uncut Killer Collector's Edition" DVD, you can see the film as it was intended to be seen - and it's a real fine treat. Now excuse me, I have to go return some videotapes.

Two Chainsaws Up

[rogerebertsclone · 15 December 2002]

Without a doubt the most underrated movie of the past decade, "American Psycho" is a piece of American cinema that shouldn't be missed by anyone, regardless if they do not like the violence (which does have its reasons).

Christian Bale gives a flawless performance as the troubled, deep down wannabe Yuppie who has psychotic, violent impulses. This is true acting here, folks. Not phoned in Tom Crooze acting. Some people object to Patrick Bateman narrating the movie [always a weak sign in a movie] and not letting us figure his motives out on our own, but if you watch closely, Bale shows us Bateman's vulnerablity through every minute of every day of his life. The movie is at times hysterical, as his character uses dominant Alpha Monkey behavior around the opposite sex. But again, it's all for good reason.

If not for Bale's performance, see it for the knife twisting satire of the '80's -- from the clothes, to the hairdos, to the music [I'll never be able to hear Phil Collins in the same way again!] The production value is rich in '80's nostalgia from the "Black and White" set designs to the enormous cellphones [how could we forget those?].

This is a movie that major studios are too afraid to touch. This is film making. Remember film making? When films took you on a ride in someone's life and you would walk away with a piece of their mind? American Psycho doesn't have any real morals or answers, but it shows the deep psychological insecurities some men suffer everyday. Oh yeah, and it was directed by a woman, so all you feminists shut up!

Cruelty and Christian Bale

[wlawson60 · 7/10 · 7 June 2008]

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.

You can always look thinner

[atzimo · 10/10 · 30 September 2002]

'American Psycho' is NOT a slasher movie. It is a depiction, a fantasy if you will, of the life of modern man and his place in society.

Nothing is enough. Money, sex, social stature, there is always someone else who has more and everyone else expect from you to try harder for even more.

This movie is about eliminating competition the easy way. By killing your opponents. By eating your sexual partners. By destroying everyone around you.

'American Psycho' retains the balance between this psychotic state, a chilling thriller and a very funny movie.

The scenes that show Patrick playing music for his guests are absolutely hilarious, as he comments very seriously on records by artists such as Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and Huey Lewis & the News. The funny thing is that he chooses the most commercial or sold out records of these artists, to explain how much better they are compared to their previous, more artistic work. Another message of the state of the receivers of commercial art.

You can analyze 'American Psycho' for hours. It can be perceived both as a deep and a fun movie. Even if you don't like the story, you will love Christian Bale's excellent performance.

Enjoy.

10/10

Dellusion or Real?

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 14 September 2017]

In New York, the narcissist investment banker Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) works in the bank of his fiancée's father and usually has dinner with his shallow coworkers at fashionable and expensive restaurants. Bateman worships notorious serial-killers, such as Ed Gein or Ted Bundy, and he is a psychopath. When his co-worker Paul Allen (Jared Leto) shows a business card of better quality than his, Bateman plots to kill him using the name of another colleague. He murders Paul with an ax and tapes a message in his answering machine telling that Paul is travelling to London. Soon the private detective Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe) investigates Paul's disappearance and interviews Bateman. Then Bateman hires two prostitutes to spend the night with him doing kinky sex and he tortures the women. Bateman tries to kill a homosexual co-worker; murders a model; and tries to kill his own secretary. Who will stop his crime spree?

"American Psycho" is an ambiguous, dark and dramatic thriller about a sick yuppie that cannot control his death wish. The viewer never knows whether Patrick Bateman really kills the persons or is delusional with a perverted mind. The black humor and the mystery of the last scenes creates the doubt in the viewer. My vote is seven.

Title (Beazil): "Psicopata Americano" ("American Psycho")

A film that teeters between Miracles and Mania

[grendel-37 · 9/10 · 13 October 2001]

Having just finished American Psycho, I came to IMDB to get some clarification on the ending. And it seems I'm not the only one left vaguely adrift by the ambiguous ending.

I've browsed some of your comments, not all 400+ to be sure. But some of them. A good sampling I think, and this movie has three distinct cheering sections.

Those who consider it a masterpiece, those who consider it unredeemable, boring trash, and by far the largest segment, those who see it as a flawed masterpiece.

I fall into the latter category. And no, I did not read the book. But as others have stated any movie that requires you to read the book, to "get" the movie, is ultimately a failure as a movie.

So my review is based solely on the merits of the film. And contrary to what some have said, the film does have many merits. I found it brilliantly directed, and a superbly acted examination of excess, and boredom, and evil. An examination, satire, critique of a time, and type of thinking.

Even before seeing the ending, I thought how much bateman lives in people. Found myself thinking, an examination of bateman is an examination of men by the name of Reagan and Bush. How American Psycho is an examination of our times, and our modern theologies.

I found the movie as a whole riveting, loved the restraint shown (and disagree with those calling for more gore, I think Mary should be applauded for her deft hand, the scenes have more power for what is not shown), and was captivated by nearly every scene, by scenes others have called boring, but I found profound.

Bateman putting on his makeup, or simply trying to get a restaurant, and the near apocalyptic importance, such minutiae makes in the lives of empty men. The right card, or the right cloth, or the right table, or the right watch, how these are the signposts of an empty age and an empty soul, and how these things have more value than your fellow man... or woman.

Bateman attains everything the materialistic times tells him he should want, but once he gets it he feels nothing. Emptier than before, less than before. It's only in the extremes of his addictions he begins to feel something, anything. He feeds to fill the emptiness, but the more he feeds the emptier he gets. He eats at his fellowman (woman) but in his bloodlust he eats at himself.

He is the American dream, taken to its cannibalistic extremes.



And never before has makeup, played such a mesmerizing part in a movie. Bateman's(Chris Bale's) face at times when he is under stress, takes on a plastic look, a glossy, sweaty sheen, and for all the world it looks like he's wearing a mask... and the mask, his mask of sanity, is beginning to run.

Simply amazing use of makeup. And incredible performance by the lead actor. I wasn't familiar with him before this, but everyone will be after this.

Upon first hearing about this movie, I had no desire to see it. I've grown up since the age of Hills Have Eyes and trash like The Beyond, watching people suffer no longer seems significant. I guess as we get older we ask more of our art than springer, or the WWF, or slasher flicks. We ask of our art to tell us something true. Something of ourselves, and our world.

I think American Psycho under the deft hand of Mary Harron becomes more than my prejudices, and exceeds my expectations. Rises at times to dizzying heights not unlike art.

Mary's restraint makes this movie. But I fear her restraint nearly sinks it as well. The ending is too ambiguous. Who is Bateman in the end. Is there a Bateman? And what did he do or did not do?

In the end,the movie will nag at you. Did he or didn't he? And in the end, now that I write this I'm thinking maybe the answer doesn't really matter, maybe in the end the answer is the same. In the end a sin of thought, or a sin of action, is still a sin. In the end we are left with a man, and a nation... whose mask is slipping.

I think like the first Psycho, time will prove this one.... worthy. I now add Mary Harron to the small selection of modern directors I will tiptoe through broken glass to see. Directors like Dave Fincher(Seven, Fight Club), Carl Franklin(Devil in a Blue Dress), Johnny To(Expect the Unexpected), Ringo Lam(Full Alert, Victim), M. Night Shyamalan(Sixth Sense, Unbreakable), and Peter Weir(Fearless).

Recommended.

American Psycho

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 25 April 2023]

There were two novels written about the 1980s corporate greed culture. Bret Easton Ellis's gory American Psycho. Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities.

Both novels were difficult to adapt. Feminist director Mary Harron aims to make the story a barbed satire of American corporate Yuppies. Part black comedy and horror.

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is the shallow successful commodities broker and vice president. His life revolves around personal grooming, working out, eating at exclusive restaurants, British pop music and kinky sex with hookers.

Bateman also fantasises about killing people. Homeless peoples, prostitutes and even rivals. There is an amusing scene where his colleagues compare business cards. Bateman is visibly shaken when one of them has a better business card.

Harron wants to highlight the selfish empty vanity of these people. Bateman is empty inside. The only thing that makes him feel alive is going on a killing spree.

The film has an emphasised surreal edge. Maybe it is all in Bateman's mind.

It has an intense performance by Bale. He also gets the black humour that Harron is aiming for. The movie however just peters out in the end and it loses its tension.

American Psycho is also a film that seems to be admired by the same type of audience that liked Fight Club. Not realising that is satirising the boorish machismo men featured in it.

Grisly black comedy with unforgettable scenes

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 17 March 2015]

A controversial adaptation of the controversial Brett Easton Ellis novel, this is actually a brilliantly conceived movie that sheds new life on the disturbed world of the serial killer – and as such may be the most innovative "psycho" movie since, well, PSYCHO! Filmly embedded in a hilariously '80s setting, this is both a thriller and a biting satire of the decade, with tons of subtle comedy and lashings of black humour to make the grisly subject matter a lot easier to digest.

It's a wonderfully shot movie with plenty of memorable scenes, such as the infamous chainsaw murder, or the bit where Jared Leto gets an axe in the face. The movie works so well thanks to the strong acting which really makes it entertaining. Christian Bale is outstanding, a wonderful and scary and believable performance as a emotionless psychopath who realises that his own murderous inclinations are evil but is unable to do anything about it. His performance never falters for a moment.

Similarly, the supporting cast of quirky characters are excellent – Reese Witherspoon's dumb-as-nails bitch; Samantha Mathis's junkie; Willem Dafoe's weirdo detective, plus a vivid array of minor roles. Although the movie is violent and pretty disgusting in places, it remains watchable and entertaining throughout thanks to the quirkily playful script and Bale's engaging performance. Definitely worth a look!

Portrait of a serial killer

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 6/10 · 6 February 2004]

This movie is very strange. It's about a stock broker who's a serial killer at night. It's also about the social life of stock brokers, in the late 80's. The main character, Patrick Bateman, constantly excuses himself out of any situation that he doesn't completely control, and is, as all the other stock brokers in the movie, incredibly vain. He's cold and possesses no emotions at all. At the end of the movie, there is a weird twist, that turns everything that has happened up to that point around; apparently, none of it actually happened, and was all a part of Bateman's overactive psychotic imagination. On the other hand, maybe it isn't. There are a lot of different theories, but it all boils down to two possibilities; either everything happened, and no one cares, everyone is indifferent to the fact that the main character has killed an unbelievable amount of people, or none of it happened, but was just something that Bateman imagined, thought about, fantasized about. I can't decide which to believe, as there is evidence to support both theories. The movie is very weird; I've seen it four times, and I still don't really understand it. Whether it's because I'm too ignorant to understand it, or the fault lies on the director, for making it too strange, I don't know. 6/10.

Incredible performance by Christian Bale. Film itself is complete garbage.

[chrisgarry-23882 · 3/10 · 15 May 2022]

The only thing in American Psycho that makes sense is Bale's performance.

Everything else is contrived, shallow, pointless, schlock horror masquerading as edgy, primal, subverted, dystopian black comedy.

Thoroughly predictable. Utterly contrived; neither shocking nor particularly comic.

Bale is incredible though, that much is obvious, and his character carries the entire production. In fact, all the major actors are fairly spectacular, there's not a bad performance in the film.

Such a shame then that the writers are more obsessed with making a Wall Street Clockwork Orange than they are producing something remotely original.

Massively overrated. 3.5/10 based on performances alone.

Christian Bale the new Peter Cushing

[albertodr07 · 9/10 · 6 October 2008]

Now it all makes sense. Christian Bale was born to play horror characters. I couldn't understand why I was so , so, afraid of him even in films like "Velvet Goldmine" He is a poster boy for putrid souls in elegant wrapping. In "American Psycho" - a film that deserves much more attention than it's got - he is absolutely terrific. Totally believable. I could sense his delight in playing a monster of this kind. Interestingly enough this manicured monster seems to be asking for sympathy, imagine the nerve! But Christian Bale succeeds in showing us a face we (I) hadn't quite seen before and yet we (I) accept without question. He should have gotten an Oscar nomination but, fortunately, he didn't.

Yes Bateman. I'm laughing AT you.

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 5 January 2022]

Your pretentiousness is over-the-top ridiculous and makes you look like a fool. Yes, your fictional, but I've seen so many of you around walking down the streets of Manhattan on my way to my office. I've even seen you in elevators that we shared, and I have to hide the laughter I'm tempted to burst out with. I may even have exchanged a glance with you in a club and rolled my eyes and turned away. In all seriousness, I've talked to people socially who have Patrick Bateman qualities (or lack of qualities as a better phrase), utilize the most pretentious of body cleaning products, but they are so much better than everybody else simply because of a label on a pair of jeans. Am I surprised that Patrick Bateman turns out to be a psychopath? Absolutely not.

The performance of Christian Bale is calculatingly brilliant, and that is due to how wonderfully despicable he is from the start, and it only gets worse. The way he talks is absolutely annoying, and that makes the film hysterical from the start. His facial expressions through the eyes and the way he talks makes me instantly discus him, but there are a lot of fools around in the business world who thinks latching on to a person like that would be an aid to their career. Then there's the women in his life, a fiance (Reese Witherspoon), a mistress (Samantha Mathis), and the secretaries and other assorted acquaintances that he abuses mentally and some physically as the audience gets to see how deranged he really is.

Jared Leto and Josh Lucas are among the men in his social circle, through business and personal, and as the murders begin to happen, William Dafoe joins the story as the detective on the case. It all starts when he brutally assaults and murders a homeless man, not just killing him but verbally abusing him in the minutes before he strikes. He thinks he is acting like God and a deliverer, and this scene is very hard to watch even though it is necessary to get the plot moving.

I have avoided this film for years, but I did break down and go to see the short-lived Broadway musical a few years ago. Both the original movie and the musical are a slap at the ridiculous pretentiousness of the higher echelon society when it gets to be too much, focusing on pretentious meals at overpriced restaurants, getting laughs through the announcement of the daily specials. This is not going to be for all tastes, but I love how it ridicules personality types like Bateman, probably not all psychopaths, but so hateful in their uppity manner that you can't help but enjoy watching them being taken down a notch or ten.

A must see

[mikhaigh · 23 April 2000]

Having read the novel by Easton-Ellis a year ago I was intrigued to find out how it could be made into a movie.

Whilst turned off by the totally uneccesary details of Batemans crimes in the book, I felt that Easton's insight into superficial 80's yuppie culture made it a classic.

Who could play a credible Bateman? Leonardo Di Caprio? I think not.

How would Mary Harron deal with those controversial torture scenes?

What we got was one of the finest movies I have seen for some time. Of course, those of closed minds will slate this film without even bothering to see it, simply because of the book's notoriety.

I was impressed to see how closely Harron followed the book, replacing the un-filmable seens with suggestion, aka ear-cutting scene from resevior dogs, so that you believe you have seen more than you have. There are more parallels with Tarantino, such as the use of classic (& non classic ) 80's pop to create a stylised feel to the movie, that has not been seen since Pulp Fiction.

Casting was superb, with Cristian Bale giving the performance of a lifetime, We, the audience, saw the souless monster within, Batemans superficial aquaintences, saw another faceless human being.

Just like the book, you are never sure wether Batemans crimes are real, or just imaginary, but his slide into insanity is clearly real and paced expertly by Bale.

Rheese Witherspoon as Evelyn was disappointing, "Election" showed what a great actress she is and although this role called for an airhead performance, it was clear that she was cruising.

Mary Harron deserves the credit for creating an excellent film, that could have so easily been just another slasher movie.

It's feelt like empty

[melga-50249 · 6/10 · 30 June 2019]

I really like the movie. But I would like seen more the develoment of the characters. Most of all of Bale and Dafoe. Dafoe was a soft character. In the begining it was a empty story, but in the middle we saw the real climax. The messege in the end, describe the entire movie. That I really like. Greetings from Argentina.

'I simply am not there...'

[movie-monster · 10/10 · 5 December 2008]

Its interesting that Christian Bale's most critically acclaimed role, in this very movie, is as a cold, psychotic and shallow yuppie. He excels by playing a character who openly admits that his only identifiable emotions are 'greed' and 'disgust'.

Firstly, this film should not be misinterpreted as a horror movie. Those who have read the Brett Easton Ellis novel will already be aware of this. It is more a satire, or a harsh and uncompromising commentary on the material excess of Wall Street, or indeed America as a whole (hence the title), during the mid-to-late 80's. It works on both these levels and many more.

The film starts as it means to continue. Bale's character, Patrick Bateman, introduces himself, and, as in the novel, goes into absurd detail regarding his washing habits and exercise regimes. For the next hour and a half, the audience is invited into his world. A world in which vanity itself, it seems, is everything. His life is composed almost entirely of expensive meals out with his high-flying friends & disillusioned girlfriend(played adequately by Reese Witherspoon), and various random, sadistic acts of violence and mutilation.

Despite all Batemans' wealth, he is emotionally bankrupt. Love and relationships are as disposable as the world he lives in. For the entire film, Bale relishes the role and never lets it slip, talking as if he's in some warped commercial for a shallow and completely hedonistic eighties lifestyle. A lifestyle which leads nowhere. Bateman's character is also loaded with contradictions and hypocrisy. In one of the opening scenes, he wastes no time describing how he believes 'in taking care of himself', but days later will be snorting cocaine in a public toilet. Later, he describes how 'we need to provide food and shelter for the homeless', which is delivered as a speech to seemingly promote Bateman's morality in front of his peers. Shortly afterwards, he stabs a tramp to death in an alleyway. This speech acts as an omen or as a warning to crimes he will commit, or will imagine committing later in the film. His references to women in particular, soon become disturbingly ironic.

Authenticity is added to the movie in the form of music and reference to the AIDS epidemic, which was just starting to take hold of the American consciousness. Bateman's highly unstable and vacuous state of mind is relayed through several brilliant quotes and scenes in the movie.

One example is the scene in which he examines his colleagues business cards in depth, and becomes so obsessed and frustrated by the minor differences in colour and font that his hand visibly shakes. Upon seeing Paul Allen's card he whispers to himself in genuine horror; 'oh my god...it even has a watermark.' In Bateman's world, this could well be interpreted as the reasoning behind him murdering Allen later in the film.

Much of the movie is left open to interpretation by the viewer, and it should definitely be watched several times. Its often hard to draw the line between reality and Bateman's own fantasies. Indeed many, if not all, of his murderous acts, could be simply figments of his own twisted imagination. The character Donald Kimble could indeed be an illusion. He interviews Bateman several times in the movie, at times appearing oblivious to the possibility of Bateman murdering Allen, and then later effectively accusing him of it.

What the film really illustrates, much like the book, is a culture and an entire way-of-life, taken too a brutal, disturbed, and even demented extreme. It is a fusion of America's most beautiful dream, and its most hideous, blood-soaked nightmare. Money is no longer a barrier for Bateman. He can have all the women, sex, narcotics, technology and expensive meals he will ever desire. There is nothing left for him or his friends to aspire too. When every line has been crossed on a daily basis, he can only find satisfaction in the most depraved and barbaric of acts, and in the end, even this isn't enough.

While the book is considerably more graphic and detailed, I would have to say I prefer the film. All the important and relevant aspects of Bateman's life and psyche are featured and Bale's performance elevates it to true 'cult classic' status. His portrayal of Bateman creates, in my opinion, one of the most vivid, cruel, iconic and unforgettable characters in the history of film.

Saved by the performances

[gabriel-ar · 7/10 · 31 December 2021]

Since the movie started I struggled to engage, I wasn't able to care enough, the story felt mild. What kept me watching was Bale's good acting. Still, throughout the film the motivation of the main character seems to be to keep killing without getting caught. I couldn't figure out other goal, so I didn't feel any interest for the ending. We have the detective who seems to be talking the story somewhere but didn't make any difference. The film is full of clever moments and some humor, but these don't advance the plot. It was mostly entertaining, hence the 7. At the end, we get this speech that I struggle to make sense of. What is the evolution or change in the characters or the story?

Dark Commentary on 80s Wall Street Culture

[gavin6942 · 9/10 · 16 April 2007]

Patrick Bateman is a heartless man with no concern for those around him. Serial killer... or capitalist? This film explains there might not be much difference and perhaps shows us why serial killers in the 1980s were more celebrated than any time before or since in popular culture.

This is not a film for everyone. Some (like myself) will love every little aspect, while others might be turned off my the sex and violence... or just be really confused by the style (the directing is weird, but actually pretty straight-forward once you've read the book). I suppose that is to be expected. Even those looking for a horror film might be let down, as that isn't the real focus here.

The cast of this film is amazing. Willem Defoe needs no introduction. Chloe Sevigny (one of my favorites), Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon (not my favorite but good for her role) and Gwen Turner. Even Samantha Mathis shows up. But, of course, stealing the show is Christian Bale.

Bale was the perfect choice to play Bateman and I'm glad director Mary Harron would settle for no one else (turning down Ed Norton, who gets compared to Bale but remains inferior). Bale is able to be any character he wants (comapre this to "Batman Begins", "The Prestige" and especially "The Machinist" and see if there's any of the same characters here). As Bateman, he is perfectly self-absorbed and also maniacally distant. The little dance during the Huey Lewis scene (one I have heard he added himself) remains for me one of the two key scenes (the other involving a chainsaw).

Besides the great acting (the real reason to watch this), the music is very noteworthy. The book does a fine job of elaborating on the music of the 1980s, and I think they incorporated that well here (throwing it in to death scenes rather than as solo pieces adds an interesting twist). This film, along with the gentlemen I go to the tavern with, really got me into Huey Lewis and Phil Collins. Which is really wonderful. Not so much on the Robert Palmer or Whitney Houston...

I guess I should also compliment them on the tasteful way (read: artistic) the sex and violence was done. Ax wounds, chainsaws and bite marks... threesomes and science-knows-what done with a coat hangar. But the vast majority is shot from such angles that it's almost all left to the imagination: you think you see more than you really do.

Clearly, I really want you to see this film. It's possibly Bale's best, or at least the one that pushed him into the spotlight. He steals the show. You won't like it if you don't like horror, but the title is "American Psycho" and the cover has a man with a knife, so you know what you're getting yourself into. Grab some popcorn and a Cherry Coke Zero and kick your feet up. Enjoy!

Still crazy (and overrated) after all these years...

[Coventry · 6/10 · 7 December 2020]

Up until a week ago, when someone asked my opinion on "American Psycho", I would tell them it was a boring and preposterous film. But that was mainly because I only saw it once, when it got released in 2000, and I was too young (or too dumb, or too eager to exclusively see violent carnage) to capture the true essence of Easton Ellis' novel/screenplay. Urgent time for a re-watch, I'd say! Twenty years later, "American Psycho" is still a bonkers film with over-the-top satire, excessive violence and an outrageous performance from Christian Bale. And yet, I still don't like it that much. Some sequences are brilliantly absurd, like when the egocentric yuppies practically orgasm over their own personalized business cards, but the majority of the film is just plain absurd; - period. Also, and be honest, who seriously cares about the frustrations of yuppie scum from the 80s? The film is at least ten years overdue. I read somewhere that Brett Easton Ellis envisioned a film version of his novel in the early nineties already, set immediately after the decade of the so-called "young upwardly-mobile professionals" of Wall Street. That would have made more sense, probably. Bale demonstrates that he's a fantastic actor, for sure. The film also features a long list of uber-talented supportive cast members (Dafoe, Witherspoon, Sevigny, Leto, Theroux, ...) but they are all quite redundant, since the plot exclusively revolves around Patrick Bateman. Brilliant soundtrack, too, but - again - overdue.

A great visual and psychological achievement. Christian Bale delivers a knock-out performance. **** (out of four)

[Movie-12 · 10/10 · 7 October 2001]

AMERICAN PSYCHO / (2000) **** (out of four)

Patrick Bateman: I think my mask of sanity is about to slip. ---"American Psycho"

The average filmmaker would turn "American Psycho" into an exploitative slasher flick, but Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner have adapted the controversial novel by Bret Easton Ellis into something unique and intriguing, a brilliant, thought-provoking social commentary thriller.

Readers criticized the decade old novel because of its graphic violence, but that doesn't cause Turner and Harron to give into the controversial material. I have never read the book, but after watching "American Psycho," I intend to. It's a scathing, rare film that probes our imagination and beliefs while experimenting with true psychological terror. It often makes startling switches between scenes of dark comedy and sequences that portray unsettling, graphic images. Director Mary Harron says in the film's press notes that she wanted all but one of the violent sequences to be disturbing. The amount of blood and violence here is certainly extreme, but considering the nature of the beast, not overly abundant. The film calculates every single act of violence, therefore, the victims are seldom random characters, but people we care about, which is why the scenes are so timely and effective.

The best description of the film's main character, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) comes from Christopher Lehmann-Houpt of The New York Times. "Patrick Bateman lives in a morally flat world in which clothes have more value than skin, objects are worth more than bones, and the human soul is something to be sought with knives and hatchets and drills."

Both leading actors in "American Psycho" have previously portrayed Jesus Christ, Willem Dafoe in "The Last Temptation of Christ," and Christian Bale in "Mary, Mother of Jesus." Talk about versatility. It's probably not a coincidence that Christian Bale was the initial actor of preference for Mary Harron. If an actor can display such a fascinating performance as Jesus Christ, he's more than capable of playing a psychotic serial killer because he already knows the other side of the moral spectrum.

Through the strong central character, "American Psycho" suggests several themes about the 1980's, including society's obsession with outer perfection, conformity, the rising threshold of material fetishism, and the strong desire of stimulation by drugs, sex, money, and power. Patrick Bateman isn't given a back story, however, and the movie doesn't offer his personal history. Bateman has no inside emotions. He reacts by inner impulse alone. He seeks gratification through the sex and drugs, but also by engaging in the homicidal behavior.

"You could describe ‘American Psycho' as a film about perfect surfaces and what might be lurking beneath," says Mary Harron. "Inside, Bateman might want it all to stop, but for him it's a compulsion. He's like the serial killer in M, who says: ‘You have a choice, but I can't help what I am.'"

"American Psycho" initially earned an NC-17 rating, not because of the violence but because of the graphic sexual content. The director's cut is available on videocassette and DVD, which shows the film's three-way sex scene in more disturbing, yet innovative, detail. That's a good thing, if you're not a sensitive viewer, because this film is all about details. The production design, the cinematography, the visual effects, the engaging soundtrack, the quirks each actor masterfully incorporates with their character, and every other aspect of the film is flush in detail.

This is a movie that requires more than one viewing, to experience the surreal visual arena, and to justify what we think actually happened. Perplexingly, the film's conclusion puts the events into question. Did Bateman really kill these people, or did he just really want to? The answers don't come easy, but this is a movie that begs us to look closer

Clever adaptation of Ellis's novel

[AKS-6 · 6/10 · 4 June 2000]

"American Psycho" is a very clever adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's cult novel. There are very gruesome murders in the film, but you never get to see them which I am grateful for. The Patrick Bateman of this film (brilliantly portrayed by Christian Bale) is not the Bateman I imagined while reading the book, I don't know why, but the Bateman I saw before me was more cool and distanced. However, I like this Bateman better (as a character in a film/book, not as a personality) and Bale really brings something special to the part. Truly a great performance. Other than that, prepare to laugh a lot while watching the film. It's a satire and it's *very* funny. For example, Bateman's monologues about music before he kills and some very funny scenes involving business cards et cetera et cetera. However, it isn't a masterpiece and while it's a good film I still feel there's something missing. I don't know what, though, but I'll have to give "American Psycho" a 6 out of 10 = good.

I honestly don't understand why people like this movie

[wwwgabereis · 4/10 · 25 June 2022]

I mean it made me feel like i was high having memory issues. This was not that great it wasn't scary and it didn't have feeling either this is a movie that was systematically over rated for this or for that but it really isn't great its not like you're missing out if you choose not to watch.