THE greatest adaptation of all time, imho. Infinite respect, I think about this almost daily
Bret Easton Ellis wrote American Psycho as a deliberately punishing critique of 80s yuppie capitalism. It’s a loose satire where violence and consumer rituals are morally equivalent because everyone is so hollow and interchangeable that nothing matters. I say loose bc it’s the memento mori of the male gaze. While kinda self aware, it’s graphically and excessively indulgent in violence against women. It blew way past the line between “satirizing misogyny” and “indulging in it.” Ellis claimed it was all autofiction, but the world (rightly) didn’t buy it.
Harron fixed it. Her film keeps the satire, ditches the graphic exploitation, and makes Bateman look pathetic instead of transgressive. “Female gaze” gets thrown around a lot, but this is the bar to which I hold everything.
Dark Knight fans, I’m sorry, but this is the definitive Christian Bale movie. The production story is crazy here. Harron was forced out of the director gig for Oliver Stone and Leo, but both dropped. Then she swoops back in, with Bale. He takes a MASSIVE pay cut (~7m to like ~60k) because he believes in the vision, and does it in method. 🙇♂️
Bale plays a man so empty he’s literally forgettable. It’s not that nobody notices his murders because 80’s NY is some rotten Gomorrah. Nobody notices his murders because nobody notices him. This is the yuppie / white collar bro / main character syndrome critique that every Tiktok about “🎶 I’m looking for a man in finance...🎶” and “performative male clairo labubu selvedge denim contest” stunt in Cal Anderson park can only dream of.
Harron surgically predicted our own personal-branding dystopia, and her movie spawned a thousand memes from guys who entirely miss that Bateman himself is the joke
A woman had to direct this to make America understand what a male author’s compelling but nihilistic novel was really trying to say. Incontestable staying power. A slam dunk.
THE greatest adaptation of all time, imho. Infinite respect, I think about this almost daily
Bret Easton Ellis wrote American Psycho as a deliberately punishing critique of 80s yuppie capitalism. It’s a loose satire where violence and consumer rituals are morally equivalent because everyone is so hollow and interchangeable that nothing matters. I say loose bc it’s the memento mori of the male gaze. While kinda self aware, it’s graphically and excessively indulgent in violence against women. It blew way past the line between “satirizing misogyny” and “indulging in it.” Ellis claimed it was all autofiction, but the world (rightly) didn’t buy it.
Harron fixed it. Her film keeps the satire, ditches the graphic exploitation, and makes Bateman look pathetic instead of transgressive. “Female gaze” gets thrown around a lot, but this is the bar to which I hold everything.
Dark Knight fans, I’m sorry, but this is the definitive Christian Bale movie. The production story is crazy here. Harron was forced out of the director gig for Oliver Stone and Leo, but both dropped. Then she swoops back in, with Bale. He takes a MASSIVE pay cut (~7m to like ~60k) because he believes in the vision, and does it in method. 🙇♂️
Bale plays a man so empty he’s literally forgettable. It’s not that nobody notices his murders because 80’s NY is some rotten Gomorrah. Nobody notices his murders because nobody notices him. This is the yuppie / white collar bro / main character syndrome critique that every Tiktok about “🎶 I’m looking for a man in finance...🎶” and “performative male clairo labubu selvedge denim contest” stunt in Cal Anderson park can only dream of.
Harron surgically predicted our own personal-branding dystopia, and her movie spawned a thousand memes from guys who entirely miss that Bateman himself is the joke
A woman had to direct this to make America understand what a male author’s compelling but nihilistic novel was really trying to say. Incontestable staying power. A slam dunk.
