Patrick Bateman: a cutthroat businessman in more
ways than one.
I
still haven't decided what is more frightening:
Patrick Bateman, the obnoxious, cocaine sniffing
Yuppie Narcissist. Or Patrick Bateman, the truly
off his rocker, insane and sadistic murderer.
Both make up the life of 1980s businessman
Bateman (Christian Bale) in this adaptation of
the controversial novel, "American Psycho."
Thinking back over the numerous insane
characters in cinema, many names come to mind:
Norman Bates, Annie Wilkes, Hannibal Lecter...the
list goes on. I think that none of them match
the insanity of Patrick Bateman. I have never
seen a screen killer lay out newspapers on the
floor, cover his furniture with plastic, and put
on a raincoat before decapitating a victim.
Neither have I seen a character who talks about
his favorite music with his soon to be victims.
The man is flat out crazy, and he is brilliantly
portrayed by versatile actor Bale, who has a
great future in film if he gives more
performances of this caliber.
While it's scary and features a fantastic lead
performance, "American Psycho" offers no depth
and no real insight into Bateman's mind. The
imagery may be startling, but there are just too
many moments where it collapses into a regular
'ole horror film (including a scene involving a
chainsaw). Despite this, "American Psycho" is
one of my favorite films. Once the shock has
worn off, you can begin to view the film for
what it really is: a satiric, EXTREMELY dark
comedy. The horrifying acts that are committed
stop being so nasty and starts being...well,
hilarious. Further kudos to Bale: one man's
nightmare, another man's comedian!
©
Written by Jacob Hall
TC Candler's Comment
This film
stays with you long after it fades to black.
Bale is superbly convincing and truly
terrifying. At times, his psychotic
behavior is so extreme that you just have to
laugh to relieve the tension.
Richard
Propes' Comment
There is
simply no way that anyone who has read "American
Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis can look at this
film and consider it a brilliant film. I agree
that it is a darkly comic film with a
surprisingly strong performance by Christian
Bale. The film "American Psycho" lacks the
novel's deep insight and utterly magnificent
character development. The controversial novel
upon which this film is based sort of reminds me
of "Hostel" than it does this film...it is a
novel that goes way beyond where the average
novel will go in making its point. You'd be
amazed at the scenes that are left out of the
film, and I seriously doubt the film would have
avoided an NC-17 if it were to be an even
remotely faithful adaptation. This is a modestly
entertaining film, but the novel is absolute
perfection.
