To put it in colloquial terms, Christian Bale `rocks!' In actuality, a casual and modest Brit, for American Psycho, Bale transforms absolutely into his worst nightmare: a psychotic, American serial killer with a touch of pathetic nerdiness. He, along with his co-workers in mergers and executions...(ehem)...acquisitions (Bateman makes the same mistake in the movie), as well as society for that matter, are ridiculously obsessed with pop culture materialism. Brand named clothing, professional-looking business cards, modern apartment buildings, and lots and lots of money are just a few of the things at the top of Patrick Bateman's priority list. Bateman is a seemingly normal business executive who treats his secretary with friendly dignity, shmoozes with his colleagues, and leads a healthy personal life. However, he hides a solitary dark secret that no one knows (or believes, even after being told). Patrick Bateman has a severe, uncontrollable lust for blood. As Bateman attempts to survive under the everyday pressures of life, he is further antagonized by his own primal urges. What begins as an occasional nightly killing transpires into a rampage of wild murders, regardless of the hour of day. Bateman descends deeper and deeper into his nightmare until he reaches a point where there is no returning to reality. He has gone over the limit. He no longer has any knowledge of who he is. Patrick Bateman is lost forever. When Christian Bale steps into the role of Patrick Bateman, sparks fly. His performance is so powerful, that it will undoubtedly grip its audience (whether they like the film on the whole or not). His character is unique and exotic to the viewer; nevertheless to the movie's various characters, he appears to be ridiculously ordinary and harmless. The audience is taken into the mindset of this madman struggling to lead a normal life, and they are scared stiff of him, at the same time as being strangely endeared towards him (like The Talented Mr. Ripley, only less dramatically). We look at Bateman as such an exaggerated caricature of modern materialistic society that he becomes dreadfully funny. The movie, with its milder gore than the original novel by Bret Easton Ellis, is doused with some good humor and clever subtexts, most notably, the materialism already described. The brilliance of American Psycho lies in its ability to hold the viewer captive while dragging him into the lifestyle of its main character, being capable of squeezing laughter out of him, as well as being able to scare him to death. Much of this credit is owed to director Mary Harron for her skillful interpretation of the film and beautiful (if that is the right word for it) shooting of the film. In the end, American Psycho is a colorful piece of modern-day, avant-garde, in many ways disgusting artistry that just so happens to involve a perverse murderer. Though it is highly controversial, and a large percentage of people will not enjoy this film, I found it to be interesting and entertaining.
