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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Psycho" meets "Wall Street". Brilliant., 19 Jun 2003
An adaptaion of a novel of the same name, American Psycho stars an excellent Christian Bale as the strutting, Narcissistic corporate high-flyer Patrick Bateman (a nod to Norman Bates?), in a mind-numbingly artficial and greed-obsessed mid '80's. His colleagues and acquaintances (and, indeed, Patrick himself, as he admits in the beginning) are completely hollow, devoid of any emotion and concerned only with prestige enhancing finery like business cards and restaurant reservations. Patrick is different, however, in that he occasionally breaks free of this drudgery by committing deranged and brutal murders (in an almost whimsical fashion). The balance between Patrick's smooth facade and his psychopathic cravings begins to collapse, and this is where we join the movie. Bale's performance is outstanding. He shows all the characteristics of a serial killer (obsessive neatness, ridiculous over-articulation and a pedantic hyperanalysis of everything from business cards to Phil Collins albums) but in an incredibly subtle and underplayed way, as befits someone who is trying to keep this in check. Interestingly, the one person he can't bring himself to kill might well be the only genuine human being in the film: his secretary (Chloe Sevigny). As with many films made in the early noughties, there is a twist towards the end which only reinforces Patrick's overwhelming normalness and is completely believable having listened to his opening speech. A very intelligent and stylish film.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
narcissism meets ivy league via wall street hacker, 12 July 2009
THIS is an american dream in it's nemesis and it is both haunting and horrid yet it rings true in every frame as BATEMAN ,A YOUNG YUPPIE WALL STREET EXEC mystifies you with his ivy league polish ,his designer suits with a perfect fit on chiselled and perfectly sculpted frame with a physique that men will die for ,which he arrogantly dismisses of as 'i look after myself' ,but he also has accessories and they are rather nasty nocturnal tools which are utilized for slicing open his female victims as a sex serial killer .
The idea of a polished ,ultra chic ,sophisticated western man trained to perfection who is the worst fiend in reality is a very painful look at the american dream as it blames the pressures and over riddled social expectations from youth as the reason for their psychotic behaviour as perfection is indeed redundant and inaccessible ,so an easy way out to channel your human energy will be the negativity of evil and here it turns to carnage with bodies piling up in cold storage kitchens in plastic wraps ,while out in daylight in high rise haven Bateman lives a shimmering ,ideal life as the most brilliant inmate of a prestigious financial firm ,ONLY to return to his luxury apartment called sardonically as perfect american gardens which serves as a human abbatoir.
A satire on both humanity and the system that has created the disaffected monsters ,it has humour imbued in every sequence with miniscule details that stun me every time i see it .
Christian Bale as the polished ,picture perfect hunk is hypnotic ,both in and out of clothes as he flaunts his torso and deltoids and sex techniques and finally his prowess with a chainsaw .
Bale has had other great roles as HARSH TIMES and DARK KNIGHT ,but this is his signature role and still his best to date and it turns the world we live in upside down in a very oblique view of Capitalism ,designer names and the drug prostitution culture rampant in the upper echelons of social strata .
A very supercilious ,sophisticated yet sobering look at the contemporary upper middle class culture breeding in the metropolitan scene which is disturbing but relevant in every gory offence committed in the name of Narcissism
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Feed Me A Stray Cat, 30 Nov 2006
This movie was rather misinterpreted by the adverts for it when it was released; it is technically a horror film but in truth, it is much more comical than the creepy adverts made out. The story follows successful, nigh-on-perfect Patrick Bateman, a handsome business man who by day lives a tedious life in constant competition with his colleagues over ridiculous things such as who has the best business card and who can get the best reservations. Yet behind this montonous but normal life, Patrick is losing his mind and spends his nights succumbing to an ever-growing bloodlust and paranoia. Christian Bale couldn't have been a more perfect choice for this role; he delivers every line brilliantly, the mannerisms he uses and even his facial expressions, are all wonderful. The supporting cast is also spectacular; Jared Leto plays an arrogant, ultimately doomed colleague, Chloe Sevigny is Bateman's shy secretary and the one person who seems to 'get' him. Reese Witherspoon makes brief but brilliant appearances as his fiance. Bateman's murder sprees are much more amusing than they are disturbing (watch out for him running around naked wielding a chainsaw) and provide a few good laughs, as does his obsession with looking good. Any movie that can have the killer taking time to exfoliate and make it work is a winner in my book! The story is highly original; I won't deny that I was completely lost in the last 15 minutes of the film but it's so entertaining I didn't even mind. This is a top quality film made even better by superb acting and directing. Buy it.
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