LogFAQs > #968633121

American Psycho (2000)
Directed by: Mary Harron
Written by: Bret Easton Ellis, Mary Harron, Guinevere Turner
Starring: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Chloe Sevigny, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon
Previous status: Never seen

"It's impossible in this world we live in to empathize with others, but we can always empathize with ourselves."

This is one of those movies that I have to be in the right mood to see. I was just feeling it tonight for whatever reason. And... well... it's October, so it's the time to watch something like this.

Let's start at the beginning. The apartment is so white that it's obviously designed to show blood. Bateman - I presume "Bate" comes from "Bates" - narrates his skincare routine for no reason. It's boring, but it becomes quickly clear that this guy's not all there - an allegory for the whole film. He is rude to his secretary, Jean, about her choice of work clothes - though, like Donnie Darko, this is quickly established as 1988 (how uncanny, they take place the same year) thanks to Robert Palmer, so norms were different back then. Bateman then goes on some rant about women's rights and I'm not buying that he actually believes that given how he treats Jean.

He makes his first kill: A hobo in the alley, and to firmly establish what a fucking monstrous asshole he is, he also stomps the guy's dog to death. Like... what the fuck is wrong with him? The "Hip to Be Square" kill of Paul Allen (no relation to the actual Paul Allen - RIP) was shades of Reservoir Dogs using "Stuck in the Middle with You" for a torture scene. It was actually kind of hilarious. As was Courtney ODing on drugs... what the heck happened to her? She just disappeared in the second half of the movie. One of many things I... didn't quite like.

Okay, let's make it clear: I didn't like this movie much. Too many unresolved plotlines, too many odd questions (who was Elizabeth, anyway?), and Bateman's kills were just too perfect, save for "Christie" who almost got away after he had a second threesome with her. He killed Paul Allen, and it's never explained why a private investigator was the one asking questions, not the NYPD. He admitted he was into "murders and acquisitions" and nobody was profiling him. Nobody NOTICED him dragging a body bag and shoving it in the trunk. That's reason enough to call 911 and report the cab number. Perhaps it's just NYC's big city apathy. Or maybe it's because this wasn't real.

Seriously, he got angry over something as petty as lettering on business cards. He almost killed Jean for no reason, but she was spared because his high-maintenance fiancee (who Reese Witherspoon embodied perfectly) interrupted with a call. And then, boom, dropped. It doesn't become apparent that things are very wrong until the ATM asks for him to feed it the stray cat... and instead of killing the cat, he kills an old lady and a bunch of cops... and then it's dropped when he goes to Paul Allen's apartment to find it empty, and is told to leave because the realtor recognizes his psychopathy. "Set under construction - please come back later." it could've said. Also: He was wearing an N95 type of mask and nobody said anything, which is quite normal now.

At the end, when his lawyer mistakes him for someone else much as Paul Allen had done before, I ask: Is he even Patrick Bateman? What's real, what isn't? But... the movie didn't give me enough thinking ammo to care, the way both Black Swan and Donnie Darko had invigorated me. This was just "Was any of it real?" - either it was, or the ending was the dream. I think this is a movie you're supposed to watch a second time to fully get, but frankly I found a lot of what was happening when he wasn't murdering to be dull. Christian Bale sells the part brilliantly, showing off Bateman's love of music simultaneous with his complete apathy toward everyone around him, but I think Bret Easton Ellis was right: This is best told as a first-person novel, which is what it was intended to be.

Unfortunately, this is the first one I've watched that I'd say I didn't really enjoy. Perhaps it's because I'm not much of a horror fan. Perhaps it's because I can't relate to Bateman. Or perhaps it's because the movie didn't give me enough to chew on. Sorry @Snake5555555555 , but it's a 2/5 from me. This may change with reassessment (if I ever watch it again) but... maybe it's just not my thing. I guess my tastes are complex, but isn't everyone's? I may have to lay off the psychological thrillers for a while tbh...