American Psycho Review
by "Berge Garabedian" (joblo AT sympatico DOT ca)April 11th, 2000
AMERICAN PSYCHO
RATING: 8 /10 --> Great movie
For more reviews and movie screensavers, visit http://www.joblo.com/
Satire: n. a literary genre in which ridicule is thrown upon something by stressing its worst features, often by the use of irony, thus assuming or affirming a norm by which aberrations are judged. You must appreciate the definition of a satire if you truly want to experience this film on the level upon which it is presented. Many satirical cinematic presentations have flopped, others flourished. This one...works!
PLOT:
Patrick Bateman is a typical Wall Street yuppie who worries more about what brand of suit to wear in the morning, than he does about hurting anyone's feelings with his contemptuous attitude. Well...actually, there is one thing that does set him apart from the rest of his ilk...Patrick also has an uncontrollable desire to kill people. And did I mention that he loves 80s pop music?
CRITIQUE:
Sick. Funny. Horrific. Charming. Unsettling. A delight. A film that can have you laughing out loud one minute, and freezing up horribly the next. A definite original, one that should have people talking for some time to come, and most definitely not for everyone! I loved the humor in this film, I loved the many great lines in this film, I even loved the whole point of the film, about a time and place in our society in which people and material objects transcended one another and became one in the same. And with materialism, greed and objectification running rampant, what is a guy like Patrick Bateman to do? Well, he essentially does what everyone in that world was doing from day to day...hiding their secrets on the inside, while maintaining a mask of serenity on the outs. The only problem with Patrick is that his "secret" is just a little more damaging than that of anyone else. Yeesh...is it ever! But if there's one reason to see this movie, one reason that I would have to pick to see this movie again, and one reason why the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio just seems totally ludicrous right now (even though he is a great actor in his own right)...two words...Christian Bale.
I hope that this film will catapult this solid thespian to greater heights, cause he doesn't just play the role of Patrick Bateman in this movie...he becomes it! A wonderful caricature of an intelligent, charming, outgoing man teetering on the brink of insanity. His look, his clothes, his eyes, his smile, his sweat, his toned body...Christian conquers this character's sardonic manner, his abundant charisma and most definitely...his killer instinct. If it sounds like I'm in love with Mr. Bale, well, you may be right (not that there's anything wrong with that). Simply an awesome performance...nominate the guy for something, for God's sakes! Of course, the story itself really isn't a story as much it is a slice-of-life movie featuring one really bizarre character head-tripping through some very odd situations in his life. I enjoyed the performances, which were all blessed by a tongue and cheek, loved the directing, Harron showing the world that she is more than a one-trick pony, and in the end, I was simply entertained and excited by the entire film. I guess you can't really ask for more than that when seeing a movie, right?
Add to that the fact that the ending is kind of ambiguous (but in a good way), the powerhouse performance by Christian Bale and the many, many funny lines and over-the-top sexual situations, and this film is a complete success on its own terms. Of course, it also manages to offset much of that humor with a few pretty gruesome moments with respect to Patrick's dirty little secret, a task handled quite admirably, it must be said. And for all you poor saps who've apparently been robbed of a 10-second bit during one of the film's menage-a-trois sequences, well, let me just say from the perspective of someone who did see the missing snippet (I'm Canadian, eh!)...no big fuss, folks. Just a guy doggying a girl in front of a mirror. You gotta love that MPAA! "Harumph....no, no, no...we can't have this sexual position in the movie...it's disgraceful!! What...a decapitated head in the refrigerator? Oh, that's no problem...that could stay."
A very cool satire featuring one messed up dude portrayed splendidly by one awesome actor.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Born in Wales, Christian Bale made his major film debut starring in Steven Spielberg's epic EMPIRE
OF THE SUN, as the lead kid. His next role will be in this summer's remake of SHAFT, in which he plays the villain.
Director Harron's first choice for the role of Patrick Bateman was Christian Bale, despite rumors which had Leonardo DiCaprio with the part early on in the pre-production. Bale took his role very seriously. He prepared for months, transforming himself physically through diet and a heavy exercise regimen. He even trained with a voice coach to perfect the right preppy, Wall Street accent.
This is Harron's second picture. Her first film, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, was nominated for Best Picture at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards. She began her filmmaking career creating documentaries for British television, as well as short films, including one called HOW TO MAKE AN OLIVER STONE MOVIE. Before working in film, Harron was a rock journalist. She helped start "Punk," the first punk magazine, and was the first writer from an American publication to interview the Sex Pistols when they were a hot new London group. She is a native of Canada and graduate of Oxford University. She is also the daughter of Don Harron, the much-loved Canadian actor and comedian. She is married to filmmaker John C. Walsh who directed ED'S NEXT MOVE. This film is based on the controversial best-seller by Bret Easton Ellis (who also wrote the novel LESS THAN ZERO). The screenplay was written by the director of this film, Mary Harron, and Guinevere Turner, who also plays the character of Elizabeth in this film. Guinevere has also held various other film roles including parts in CHASING AMY and DOGMA. In fact, her friendship with director Kevin Smith runs pretty deep, as he apparently named the character of Gwen Turner in MALLRATS after her.
Review Date: April 10, 2000
Director: Mary Harron
Writers: Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner
Producers: Edward R. Pressman, Chris Hanley and Christian Halsey Solomon Actors: Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman
Willem Dafoe as Donald Kimball
Reese Witherspoon as Evelyn Williams
Samantha Mathis as Courtney Rawlinson
Chloe Sevigny as Jean
Jared Leto as Paul Allen
Genre: Thriller
Year of Release: 2000
-------------------------------------
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
http://www.joblo.com/
-------------------------------------
(c) 2000 Berge Garabedian
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
