Top positive review
20 people found this helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsOne of my favorites. Spoilers in review.
ByJacobon July 21, 2018
SPOILERS SPOILERS
After seeing this movie about a dozen times in the now almost 20 years since the movie came out, and reading the book somewhere in between, I love this movie for being able to be interpreted multiple ways. The most obvious way is that he is a serial killer but gets away with it.
Another interpretation that really popped during this most recent viewing was that it was all in his head... All of the scenes that make him out to be such a sociopath are over the top because they never happened (except in his head). He's a mentally ill, socially awkward guy who dreamed up the personality we see on the movie as his escape from his depressing reality. He is doing everything he can in an attempt to be mentally healthy; he works, takes care of himself physically, but he has no real relationships because he can't help it. He didn't kill any women, he unintentionally chases them away to the point even prostitutes don't want to be around him. Rather than have all those scarring memories as his crippling reality, he chooses to remember the people he chases away as victims of a smooth talking serial killer who we, the audience, can see is disconnected but he only appears disconnected because we're viewing him through a mentally ill person's perception of their own fantasy.
When he tells the bartender "I want to stab you to death, and play around with your blood.", that's just the reply he wishes he said but didn't. His breakdown at the end of the movie is his real cry for help because, in an attempt to live a "normal" life, he's been hiding symptoms of his illness too successfully for his own good and he's losing touch because of an illness he can't control. The drawings his secretary finds are real but aren't evidence of murder, they're just an example of his obsession with finding a girl to have a meaningful relationship with that he morphed into a Patrick Bateman that doodles these fantasy women as murder victims. The secretary of course will be further chased away by this, as has happened with everyone else he attempts to have a personal relationship with.
After seeing this movie about a dozen times in the now almost 20 years since the movie came out, and reading the book somewhere in between, I love this movie for being able to be interpreted multiple ways. The most obvious way is that he is a serial killer but gets away with it.
Another interpretation that really popped during this most recent viewing was that it was all in his head... All of the scenes that make him out to be such a sociopath are over the top because they never happened (except in his head). He's a mentally ill, socially awkward guy who dreamed up the personality we see on the movie as his escape from his depressing reality. He is doing everything he can in an attempt to be mentally healthy; he works, takes care of himself physically, but he has no real relationships because he can't help it. He didn't kill any women, he unintentionally chases them away to the point even prostitutes don't want to be around him. Rather than have all those scarring memories as his crippling reality, he chooses to remember the people he chases away as victims of a smooth talking serial killer who we, the audience, can see is disconnected but he only appears disconnected because we're viewing him through a mentally ill person's perception of their own fantasy.
When he tells the bartender "I want to stab you to death, and play around with your blood.", that's just the reply he wishes he said but didn't. His breakdown at the end of the movie is his real cry for help because, in an attempt to live a "normal" life, he's been hiding symptoms of his illness too successfully for his own good and he's losing touch because of an illness he can't control. The drawings his secretary finds are real but aren't evidence of murder, they're just an example of his obsession with finding a girl to have a meaningful relationship with that he morphed into a Patrick Bateman that doodles these fantasy women as murder victims. The secretary of course will be further chased away by this, as has happened with everyone else he attempts to have a personal relationship with.
Top critical review
One person found this helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsGreat acting but crazy story!
ByDebbie Krameron March 11, 2016
The acting was great but the story line got confusing as to whether we were experiencing reality or his imagination. At one point many dead bodies are in his apartment and a girl escapes but somehow this scene and dialogue did not seem believable so you start questioning the movie and what is really happening. It keep my attention throughout the movie but it did leave me a little dissatisfied. I didn't feel a resolution in the ending. Not sure I got it!
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4.0 out of 5 starsNasty, naughty, and if you can stomach it, it is worth watching Christian do his thing.
ByR. Rogerson October 14, 2014
This movie is somewhat a study of the 80's yuppie scene and although extreme at times it shows how self-absorbed these people were. But the most notable characteristic is that our main man can hide more or less in plain view the fact that he was and is an insane serial killer. The murders are quite horrific almost to the point of absurdity because our character seems to take so much joy in what he does, with no remorse or guilt whatsoever. Christian Bale is in almost every single scene and I cannot think of another actor who could have carried this role off with as much intensity as Christian did. While somewhat disturbed by the brutality and horror connected with the killings, you cannot help but wonder where the character will finally meet his end. Or does he ever?
One person found this helpful
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Byvirakamon January 10, 2017
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I don't really like mystery or horror movies and yet something about the combination of the ideas expressed, the bleak view of yuppie society and Christian Bale's performance created a perfect piece of cinematic art. It can be watched many times for more subtle insight. Highly recommend.
ByMalinda Pattersonon May 25, 2018
Although this is supposed to be a horror movie I found myself laughing quite a bit. I actually know men like this, but hoping they are not murderers on the side! Me and my friends have often used quotes from the movie trying to be funny. And the obsession with business cards??????
ByJames Bakeron June 4, 2001
American Psycho, in its literary form, is a difficult read, as it comes off as pure graphic exploitation. The violence is so strong that many readers were blinded to the sporadic humour of the piece, often laugh out loud funny. Happily, the film takes all the redeeming qualities of the novel and builds on them, creating another beast entirely. The film plays as a black comedy, not horror. There is a little bloodshed for the Fangoria hounds here, but most of the violence is off screen, left to the dark pits of imagination. Christian Bale gives a career making performance, making Patrick Bateman a ridiculous blend of Casey Casem and any masked axe wielding killer you could think of. But most importantly the film acts as a satirical look at the cultural emptiness of the eighties, and the emptiness of Bateman. Don't be afraid! This is a great film just waiting to be discovered.
Byman_invisibleon October 25, 2000
Where 1999 was considered one of the most exciting years for film, 2000 has been mostly derivative and dull as it quickly approaches an end. The one movie that sticks out--I saw it twice in the theater--is "American Psycho," a rib-tickling satire about young rich men who define themselves by hairstyle, bath products, the restaurants they eat at, etc. As the hollow yet handsome yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman, Christian Bale pulls off the act of being a soulless, angry snake quite well.
Despite other reviewers who take issue with the fact that the film isn't violent enough, a detail-by-detail adaptation of Ellis' book would go beyond an NC-17 (it'd be like watching snuff, probably). Marry Harron's visual tricks imply most of the carnage, which may not be as disturbing as the scenes Ellis described, but do the trick all the same.
Like all well-crafted satires of late, "American Psycho" finds humor in the extremes of human behavior and the horrors we unleash on one another. Even if this year had been as exciting as 1999, AP would still stick out. As a spit in the eye of '80s greed, this tale is just a relevant today.
Despite other reviewers who take issue with the fact that the film isn't violent enough, a detail-by-detail adaptation of Ellis' book would go beyond an NC-17 (it'd be like watching snuff, probably). Marry Harron's visual tricks imply most of the carnage, which may not be as disturbing as the scenes Ellis described, but do the trick all the same.
Like all well-crafted satires of late, "American Psycho" finds humor in the extremes of human behavior and the horrors we unleash on one another. Even if this year had been as exciting as 1999, AP would still stick out. As a spit in the eye of '80s greed, this tale is just a relevant today.
ByJJon November 19, 2016
Not quite sure what the movie was going for--humor, horror, some combination of both. Great infusion of 80's music and lots of great casting but the story was just off
Byhenry krinkleon December 14, 2006
...but there's so much more to love. Even if this movie wasn't a spot-on dissection of Reagen-era attitudes and excesses (not that things are that different today), Christian Bale's AMAZING performance would make it worthwhile. I admit I wasn't too into it at first, thinking from reviews and commercials that it would be "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" in Armani...after a few more viewings, it really started to sink in. I now watch it at least twice a month. Seriously.
Trying to put this into the genre of horror and compare it to films within those confines misses the point entirely...most of the violence takes place off screen and it's actually incidental to the overall point or "message". If I had to put it next to another movie for comparison, my choice would be "Taxi Driver". It portrays the same inner turmoil and desire to belong, but in a much more cold and cynical way. Whereas Travis Bickle (DeNiro) had an almost innocent, Holden Caulfield-esque outlook on life and the drive to be a heroic figure that saves the world, Patrick Bateman sees the world as an extension of his "greed and disgust". There's also the fact that I've seen each a zillion times and still occasionally pick up a detail or line of dialogue that I'd never noticed before.
Anyway, it's a mind-blowingly good movie IN MY OPINION with beautiful cinematography and great performances from everyone involved (Willem Dafoe's scenes are sparse but hilarious and Chloe Sevigny's character gives a quiet, poignant feel to her major scene with Bale.)
If you don't like it the first time, wait a while and try again.
Trying to put this into the genre of horror and compare it to films within those confines misses the point entirely...most of the violence takes place off screen and it's actually incidental to the overall point or "message". If I had to put it next to another movie for comparison, my choice would be "Taxi Driver". It portrays the same inner turmoil and desire to belong, but in a much more cold and cynical way. Whereas Travis Bickle (DeNiro) had an almost innocent, Holden Caulfield-esque outlook on life and the drive to be a heroic figure that saves the world, Patrick Bateman sees the world as an extension of his "greed and disgust". There's also the fact that I've seen each a zillion times and still occasionally pick up a detail or line of dialogue that I'd never noticed before.
Anyway, it's a mind-blowingly good movie IN MY OPINION with beautiful cinematography and great performances from everyone involved (Willem Dafoe's scenes are sparse but hilarious and Chloe Sevigny's character gives a quiet, poignant feel to her major scene with Bale.)
If you don't like it the first time, wait a while and try again.
Bysamspennellon November 20, 2014
The idea behind this movie is almost brilliant and it looks as though Christian Bale was ready to bring some great stuff to the role, but at the end of the day, the screenplay was lacking and not a complete, compact story. As this was adapted from the book "American Psycho," it looks like what happened was that they wanted to stay true to the book, but couldn't fit everything in there for length and violence reasons, so they cut out pieces of the story and sewed it back together with some parts missing, and the whole thing wasn't totally coherent. With a book adaptation, what you are looking for is to capture the incredibly dry humor and the irony of these yuppies' lifestyles. They act incredibly self important but are so stupid and vain. Patrick Bateman is supposed to be worse than the others and the absolute pinnacle of all this. You need to capture the cerebral and ironic humor that is in there, and this movie did that, but it did it too slowly, and without enough poignant punch to the scenes. Cause was not immediately followed by effect and the movie lost its pace and meaning. I believe that they were trying to stay true to the book, but what works in the book doesn't necessarily work on film.
This movie also could have been a ridiculous slasher flick that is a parody of horror films. Couple that with the ridiculous, ironic lifestyles of these yuppies and it could have been funny, but like I said, the succinct meaning and lyricism of the book was probably lost in the translation to film. Bale was good but not perfect, and the movie tread into disturbing territory that was not over the top slasher fare, but too serious and realistic, and ruined the tone of the movie, making violent parts of it unenjoyable. Nobody likes to see people actually getting hurt, and if this could have just been an absurd sendup of the horror genre, it could have been good. If it made fun of horror movies it could have been good, but it made fun of people's suffering, and that's not funny. I applaud them for trying this movie, but it was kind of a swing and a miss. I read some of the non-violent parts of this book, and it was a hilarious parody of the yuppie lifestyle, but the abstract background of the book worked, while the specific visualization of the movie did not. This movie had elements that worked, but didn't totally work on the whole. The jokes were too subtle and drawn out, and the movie didn't build in a logical way, and end with a logical conclusion. Some of the absurd and philosophical elements worked, like when he says that there is no real Patrick Bateman, and some of the atmospheric elements and tributes to Alfred Hitchcock were actually pretty cool. On the whole, a very interesting idea for a movie that didn't totally work, and yes, the violence and darkness were too disturbing.
This movie also could have been a ridiculous slasher flick that is a parody of horror films. Couple that with the ridiculous, ironic lifestyles of these yuppies and it could have been funny, but like I said, the succinct meaning and lyricism of the book was probably lost in the translation to film. Bale was good but not perfect, and the movie tread into disturbing territory that was not over the top slasher fare, but too serious and realistic, and ruined the tone of the movie, making violent parts of it unenjoyable. Nobody likes to see people actually getting hurt, and if this could have just been an absurd sendup of the horror genre, it could have been good. If it made fun of horror movies it could have been good, but it made fun of people's suffering, and that's not funny. I applaud them for trying this movie, but it was kind of a swing and a miss. I read some of the non-violent parts of this book, and it was a hilarious parody of the yuppie lifestyle, but the abstract background of the book worked, while the specific visualization of the movie did not. This movie had elements that worked, but didn't totally work on the whole. The jokes were too subtle and drawn out, and the movie didn't build in a logical way, and end with a logical conclusion. Some of the absurd and philosophical elements worked, like when he says that there is no real Patrick Bateman, and some of the atmospheric elements and tributes to Alfred Hitchcock were actually pretty cool. On the whole, a very interesting idea for a movie that didn't totally work, and yes, the violence and darkness were too disturbing.
Byhorror movie manon October 21, 2015
excellent horror/suspense movie where Christian bale steals the show . gret pic and sound .
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