American Psycho (2000)

A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

Director:

Mary Harron

Writers:

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

Stars:

Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas

8 wins & 13 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	...	Donald Kimball
Cara Seymour	...	Christie
Guinevere Turner	...	Elizabeth
Stephen Bogaert	...	Harold Carnes
Monika Meier	...	Daisy
Reg E. Cathey	...	Homeless Man

Storyline

Patrick Bateman is handsome, well educated and intelligent. He is twenty-seven and living his own American dream. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was born with. At night he descends into madness, as he experiments with fear and violence.

---

Plot Keywords:

narcissism | materialism | serial murder | 1980s | business card | 

---

Taglines:

No introductions necessary.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though this didn't happen in the novel, it's noted that in the film, Patrick Bateman talks in great detail about his favorite musicians to his victims before he carries out his murderous attacks onto them. People have stated that they find this element very scary about the character because it not only shows how shallow and pretentious he is. It also shows how obsessive and unpredictable Bateman is.

---

Goofs

(at around 14 mins) The porno movie that goes on during Patrick's telephone conversation with his fiancé is taken from Red Vibe Diaries: Object of Desire, produced in 1997.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Waiter #1: Our pasta this evening is squid ravioli in a lemon grass broth with goat cheese profiteroles, and I also have an arugula Caesar salad. For entrees this evening, I have swordfish meatloaf with onion marmalade, rare roasted partridge breast in raspberry coulis with a sorrel timbale.
Waiter #2: ...and grilled free-range rabbit with herbed french fries. Our pasta tonight is a squid ravioli in a lemon grass broth, and the fish tonight is a grilled...

---

Alternate Versions

For the US theatrical release, director Mary Harron had to edit the following two scenes (which are available on the unrated edition) in order to receive an R-rating from the MPAA:

• The word "asshole" in the line, "Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your asshole" was changed to just "ass".
• The threesome during the same scene was trimmed several seconds.

---

Connections

Referenced in Movie Nights: Vampire's Kiss (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Ya Llegaron A La Luna
Written by Santiago Jiménez
Performed by Santiago Jiménez Jr.
Courtesy of Easy Disk/Rounder Records Corp.
Published by San Antonio Music Publishers, Inc.

User Reviews

Interesting, always interesting!

By the end, I didn't know what to make of it, but now I understand the film much better. This film is must viewing, it brings out the truth about today's world - Nothing but material values matter, we live empty lives, we think empty thoughts, we are empty people, life is boring.

Christian Bale is awesome, quality acting! Willem Dafoe was underused, I didn't think the support cast had the same quality material as Bale.

The photography is stylish, very 80s gloss!

The direction is terrific, wonderful camera work.

Overall, see it, it's satire, black comedy, social commentary and more!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Spanish Cantonese

Release Date:

14 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Psycho

Filming Locations:

Alley at 51 Nassau Street, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,961,015, 16 April 2000

Gross USA:

$15,070,285

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,266,564

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1