American Psycho is a film about a man named Patrick Bateman (played by critically-acclaimed actor Christian Bale), a well-off CEO of a Wall Street office who kills innocent people for seemingly no reason. As his psychotically-deranged life progresses, his hatred for the world and his own society becomes more and more intense.
Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho was, to the relief of the viewers, a toned-down version of the book published in 1991. Upon its release in 2000, it thrilled audiences around the world who wondered how such a wealthy executive could hide his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he traveled further into his sick, sadistic fantasies.
It would have been an almost impossible task to take some of the most extreme scenes from the book and commit them to film without having the film banned from theatres or revolting the audience in the process. Instead, American Psycho leaves the audience guessing. It lets us look into the amazingly fragile and insecure mind of Patrick Bateman and wonder whether his unstable nature would actually lead him to commit such vile acts or whether he simply, though still not to be taken lightly, fantasized about them.
Seized by paranoia, Patrick Bateman has become a robot due to the shallowness of his career and the ego-driven society that surrounds him.
American Psycho is a fascinating psychological film to watch because Bateman is such a complex character. We're repulsed by his violent acts, amused by his superficiality, and we pity his ever-failing sanity. Christian Bale's portrayal of Patrick Bateman doesn't disappoint. Never in the entire film does his character mask fall while he paints a believable portrait of a mentally-deranged serial killer.
Though a few scenes were from the book were missing in the movie, both are thought-provoking and mentally-stimulating.
The book and movie were both consistently pushing the boundaries. When you surrender your mind to the art of film it can take you to exciting new places that you didn't realize were there. This film/book duo shows us the negative side of what can happen when you repress emotions.
Bret Easton Ellis has been called a genius for this book and director/screenwriter Mary Harron turned his prose into one of the cleverest films produced in a long time.
Danielle Crowe - Journalist with a poetry, literature, and copywriting focus. I also hold a diploma in Vet Assisting with a specialization in Animal ...
