American Psycho (2000)
Directed By Mary Harron
8/10
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. I'm 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there..
Now that’s an intro.
American Psycho takes place in the 1980’s NYC yuppie scene. A world of fast talkers, sharp suits, and fancy business cards. Our leading man Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is on the surface your typical high-life investment banker with a taste for modern furniture, new wave music, and expensive dining. Just under that however, is a bloody thirsty lust that becomes the subject of this film. Soliciting and murdering prostitutes, stuffing their remains in his fridge, handling business derivatives and still taking the time to film some amateur porn: How does this guy find the time?
First off, holy crap. You gotta love Christian Bale in this. Probably my favorite role by him, he has this thing nailed almost as if this is how the guy really acts in real life. He tries to be smooth, but he‘s awkward at it, he tries to be clever, but he fumbles a bit-and I don’t mean it in a super obvious way. No, he does not go Michael Cera in this film. Rather, these occurrences are subtle and played out not for comedic relief, but to hint and give glimpses of his unstable psyche. You can literally feel this guy about to snap at any moment like a goddamned rubber band.
The film pulls very few punches, giving you a more than the recommended daily dose of sex and gore. There is no attempt at trying to explain Patrick’s psychosis and that’s a good thing. Think of it like The Joker in The Dark Knight. You don’t really know what his story is but that’s not the point. Point is the guy is nutty and he’s gonna kill a bum and his dog cause well, why the hell not?
This movie has some very memorable scenes, my favorite being the one where they exchange and critique each other’s business cards. It’s wonderfully intriguing to watch Patrick compare and contrast the indistinguishable font and texture of his card with the others because you start to get a feel for how this guy’s mind reacts. An obsessive and specific kind of mind that let’s itself know as sudden awkward bursts of franticness then and as a gory murder later. Speaking of gory murder, another great scene is the axe murder. Its disturbingly delightful for him and delightfully disturbing for us. I don’t have to mention the part with the stairwell and the chainsaw either, do I?
If I have any kind of issue with this movie is it’s lack of noteworthy supporting cast. Sure they do their job, but I guess I’m kinda saying that Christian Bale/Patrick Bateman take the spotlight and lever leave chance for anyone else to shine as well. Though most would argue this was the point: An emphasis on just the psycho, I still have to say, when I think of this movie I think of the main character and no one else. I didn’t even remember anyone else’s name. Because he was such a great person to watch though, I’m not holding it as very noteworthy flaw (if it can even be called a flaw).
I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to any movie fan. Though some more traditional movie goers might be put off by its depiction of violence and its lack of psychological backstory, those who look past that will find a whimsical (if unsettling) time with this film.
Directed By Mary Harron
8/10
I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. I'm 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there..
Now that’s an intro.
American Psycho takes place in the 1980’s NYC yuppie scene. A world of fast talkers, sharp suits, and fancy business cards. Our leading man Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is on the surface your typical high-life investment banker with a taste for modern furniture, new wave music, and expensive dining. Just under that however, is a bloody thirsty lust that becomes the subject of this film. Soliciting and murdering prostitutes, stuffing their remains in his fridge, handling business derivatives and still taking the time to film some amateur porn: How does this guy find the time?
First off, holy crap. You gotta love Christian Bale in this. Probably my favorite role by him, he has this thing nailed almost as if this is how the guy really acts in real life. He tries to be smooth, but he‘s awkward at it, he tries to be clever, but he fumbles a bit-and I don’t mean it in a super obvious way. No, he does not go Michael Cera in this film. Rather, these occurrences are subtle and played out not for comedic relief, but to hint and give glimpses of his unstable psyche. You can literally feel this guy about to snap at any moment like a goddamned rubber band.
The film pulls very few punches, giving you a more than the recommended daily dose of sex and gore. There is no attempt at trying to explain Patrick’s psychosis and that’s a good thing. Think of it like The Joker in The Dark Knight. You don’t really know what his story is but that’s not the point. Point is the guy is nutty and he’s gonna kill a bum and his dog cause well, why the hell not?
This movie has some very memorable scenes, my favorite being the one where they exchange and critique each other’s business cards. It’s wonderfully intriguing to watch Patrick compare and contrast the indistinguishable font and texture of his card with the others because you start to get a feel for how this guy’s mind reacts. An obsessive and specific kind of mind that let’s itself know as sudden awkward bursts of franticness then and as a gory murder later. Speaking of gory murder, another great scene is the axe murder. Its disturbingly delightful for him and delightfully disturbing for us. I don’t have to mention the part with the stairwell and the chainsaw either, do I?
If I have any kind of issue with this movie is it’s lack of noteworthy supporting cast. Sure they do their job, but I guess I’m kinda saying that Christian Bale/Patrick Bateman take the spotlight and lever leave chance for anyone else to shine as well. Though most would argue this was the point: An emphasis on just the psycho, I still have to say, when I think of this movie I think of the main character and no one else. I didn’t even remember anyone else’s name. Because he was such a great person to watch though, I’m not holding it as very noteworthy flaw (if it can even be called a flaw).
I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to any movie fan. Though some more traditional movie goers might be put off by its depiction of violence and its lack of psychological backstory, those who look past that will find a whimsical (if unsettling) time with this film.
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