American Psycho

100 Feel like this is gonna be a long one. I just love this film so much it got even better on rewatch.  I love films that keep me engaged, have me asking questions and make me instantly want to read up more about them. American Psycho fits that description perfectly. After finishing the rewatch I went back down the American Psycho rabbit hole and all throughout watching I was taking endless notes.  Working through the film in order then:  The introduction has such a distinct tone about it. The narration is spot on and we're introduced to an immediately fascinating protagonist. Bateman demonstrates his warped priorities by announcing the location of his apartment even before his own name. I also love the accent Bale has chosen, it makes Bateman so deservedly iconic.  There’s nothing but sex and violence shown on his TV, even some brilliant foreshadowing through The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s this kind of attention to detail that I really appreciate.  Each scene is purposeful and there’s no filler. It’s a relatively short film as the source material doesn’t contain much of a narrative but Harron’s adaptation is excellent in establishing a feeling of continuity and progression. Each moment is insightful. Take the dry cleaning scene. It speaks obviously to Bateman’s charactor and is completely hilarious but it is the look Patrick gives on his exit that shows the level of depth we’re working with.  My favorite scene is probably the business card one. It’s just absolutely perfect. Bale’’s ability to sweat on command is insanely  impressive and the performances from everyone here are spot on. The ominous music and slick editing really tie the scene together. The bankers’ concept of what is important is so comically out of touch that the business cards take Bateman close to tears. They of course have the same suits, same glasses and same haircuts but once again the film goes a step further as they all misspell Acquisitions - a detail I really enjoy. The scene’s dialogue is lifted straight from the book and is just amazing. The directing and camera work is noticeably strong in this scene too.  The scene with the homeless man and his dog is extremely potent. Harron enjoyed the abrubtness of the book in its tonal shifts from comedic to bleak in an instant which comes off marvellously in the adaptation.  Once again I think the score here deserves more praise. It’s a tough watch but this is how it should be. Really is the perfect blend of comedy and horror.  The scene at the Christmas party I think can seem forgettable but actually contains some of the best dialogue. Bateman’s misdelivery of “Have a holly jolly Christmas” is perfect. I also like the references to his childhood. They’re not overbearing at all and serve as a reminder that Bateman as a psychopath and killer is not really what the film is about. Examples being “I’m a child of divorce.” And “Your dad practically owns the company” are some of the only references to his family life.  To pick one line to summarise the movie it would be: “I’m trying to fit in.” Whilst Patrick is of course the protagonist, this movie is less about him and more about his friends, environment and 80s corporate society. The critique works so well because it is not of Bateman himself as a killer but the bankers who are so self-centred and arrogant that they don’t even notice or care.  Willem Dafoe is also great and the detective scenes are very well done. Each scene was filmed three times: one where the detective does not suspect Bateman as the killer, one where he is suspicious and another where he is certain. These were then cut together to make for beautifully tense and uncertain moments. You can even notice this after Patrick says “I hope I’m not being cross examined.” Dafoe’s delivery of “Do you feel that way?” is clearly one from the certain pile. The detective also shines a CD in Bateman’s eyes, presumably to unsettle him but I like to think Kimball is testing Bateman’s reaction here.  A genuine question I had about the film is why does Patrick spare Gene? It seems he doesn’t want to hurt her as if she is different but why? It’s something that might become clearer for me upon third watch.  The chainsaw scene is possibly the most famous and for good reason. It’s so hyperbolic and comedic but also darks snd violent. Once again toeing the line perfectly between comedy and horror. The score needs another shoutout here too. The whole sequence is so over the top it couldn’t possibly be real which indicates that it exists only in Patrick’s mind but then again the society Ellis is describing would be too self-indulgent to answer the door or report a screaming stranger. There’s deliberate and thought-provoking ambiguity as to the extent to which this scene is exaggerated or even happening at all. I think I noticed a bit of an accent slip from Bale when shouting but that’s the only (potential) flaw from him all movie.  Bateman’s confession contains some of the best directing, camerawork and lighting in the film and just an elite level of acting. it’s not discussed enough what a performance Bale puts in.  My first time watching i completely misunderstood the ending. I thought Patrick’s lawyer was lying about Allan to create a false alibi, that the bodies were hidden and the house painted to maintain its properly value and that whilst exaggerated in his head, Bateman definitely had killed. This isn’t what I thought the second time round.  Harron is also not trying to indicate that it’s all in Bateman’s head either. She acknowledges that many thought this and blames herself for putting too much emphasis on Patrick’s hallucinations but I don’t find this to be a directorial fault. The extent to which it is all in his head is ultimately just unimportant.  It’s difficult to stress that the narrative ending is unimportant as the film medium is much more used to this sort of resolution but whichever way you chose to approach the ending, the overall messaging should remain constant. Christian Bale noted that Bateman has an ‘arc’ in the sense that his hallucinations take him from “a psychopath to psychotic” but much more profoundly is the sentiment that he’s not the psycho at all. If he did kill Allan then he escaped justice due to his indistinguishability as he was seen on the night of his murder but this is just likely one of his many doppelgängers. This lack of consequences ends up being his ultimate punishment. He’s not the psycho because of this indistinguishability. Bateman has so perfectly modelled himself on the others that they don’t notice or care about his true reality. They may even all be like him. There is absolutely no difference between whether the events of the film are real or fantasy because in the end “This confession. Meant. Nothing.” Everyone has blurred into one image of success resulting in Bateman’s punishment of an endless lack of catharsis. It’s by focusing so narrowly on the neoliberal Reaganist idea of success that there's no justice for Patrick’s potential victims. The cause of all the problems is a striving for uniformity.  This should serve as a warning against chasing one idea of success. Bateman has to go to the most extreme lengths to be different. At surface level he needs to blend in but deeply he strives to stand out. He needs to be known as the killer but nobody cares enough for this to happen. This leads to one of my favorite aspects of the film.  Above Patrick’s head is a sign that reads “no exit” and the ending of the film shares parallels to the 1944 play of that name. In the play three characters are locked in a room and whilst the door becomes unlocked they do not leave, they cannot leave because they are bound their own guilt, pride and an obsession with how others perceive them. “Hell is other people.” Patrick cannot leave and cannot escape, he cannot have his catharsis because each person is bound so tightly by what others perceive them as.  Patrick Bateman being a psychopathic killer is not the point of this movie. Nobody caring that Patrick Bateman is a psychopathic killer is the point of this movie. I could talk for hours more about American Psycho I have no idea why I find it just so dam fascinating. The insightful social commentary is so perfectly executed I know there’s even more to uncover on a third watch.  Anyway, “I have to return some videotapes.”