Rating. 57%
American Psycho is a film that defined a decade. Based on Brit Easton Ellis' controversial novel, Mary Harron's adaptation remains essential viewing despite all its flaws.
Christian Bale stars as Patrick Bateman, a handsome 27-year-old Vice-President at the Wall Street firm of Pierce & Pierce. Bateman exists in a morally bankrupted environment, where the ability to secure dinner reservations at the most exclusive restaurants in New York and the look of a business card is a measure of taste and social standing. "That's 'bone'... and the lettering is something called 'Silian rail,'" Bateman informs a co-worker, with reference to the shade of white used on his new business card.
Stylish, superficial and self-absorbed, Bateman lacks any form of humanity as his psychopathic ego unleashes an increasingly hedonistic bloodlust. Much of the gore occurs off-screen, but there is a sublime delight to watching Bateman critiquing seriously uncool 1980s pop, the likes of Huey Lewis & The News, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston, whilst in the midst of such heinous acts.
Christian Bale's portrayal of Bateman is a truly terrifying spectacle. In one scene he chases a potential victim through an apparently empty apartment block, stark naked (except for sneakers), chainsaw in hand.
Twenty years later the dubiety of American Psycho's climax is the subject of much debate. Many viewers marvel at the unravelling of Bateman's depraved fantasies, but I must confess I would have preferred more clarity in the conclusion. The energy and momentum created in the early part of the film steadily dissipates to an underplayed, unresolved and unsatisfactory ending. In my opinion, this is a major failing.
Nonetheless, American Psycho remains a cutting edge satirical examination of entitlement, excess and misogyny in the 1980s. Now where's that Phil Collins CD?
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