American Psycho
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For some odd reason I got in the mood to watch this movie, even though I’d already seen it and I rarely watch movies a second time unless they’re in my own collection. Nevertheless, I popped it in and enjoyed it more this time, I think. Bateman’s downward spiral throughout the film is fascinating to watch, and there are lots of clever ambiguities that are never really explained. You leave the film not knowing what is real and what isn’t. Is Patrick a serial killer, really? Did he do all the thing he seems to think he did?
It’s a wonderfully unanswered set of questions, and the film has elements that accentuate the ambiguity. For example, after he kills Paul Allen, Patrick drags the body through the foyer of his apartment building, and a trail of blood is clearly visible. But then, it’s gone in the next shot. There’s also the scene where he shoots the police car and it explodes, and he looks at his gun in disbelief. And of course, there’s the lawyer who claims to have seen Paul Allen twice, even though Patrick claims to have killed him.
The lack of character depth would normally annoy the crap out of me, but in this case it’s an important facet of the film. Patrick tries desperately to be better than his peers, to stand out. Examples of this are with his business card, and his comments about Allen’s apartment. He is genuinely concerned when he fails to be "the best," and he seems to go out of his way to stand out. However, he contradicts that goal by claiming to keep a job only to "fit in," and working hard on his body so he’ll fit the smart, attractive, successful bachelor façade.
One of the most interesting scenes in the film is the symbolic peeling of his face mask early on. The film as a whole deals with Patrick’s crisis of self-identity, and the removal of the mask foreshadows the metaphorical mask that Bateman removes as he tells us about his "true self" throughout the film.
Characters constantly confuse other characters, representing the fact that all of them look the same. They all have similar jobs, haircuts, tastes, opinions, etc. Patrick on several occasions pretends to be Paul Allen, and is often confused for other characters by people that are supposedly his peers or even his friends. The characters have no souls; they want to stand out and fit in at the same time. Patrick’s psychotic break is arguably another attempt to stand out – to be recognized as someone powerful, someone who has an impact. However, even at the climax of the film, when he calls his lawyer and confesses, he is not believed. He is only what everyone perceives him as, nothing more.
It’s an interesting film. Some very clever shots, like the scene where he holds a nail gun to Jean’s head unbeknownst to her. The murder of Paul Allen is downright funny. Very Hannibal Lechter-like. Bale’s nearly emotionless performance is spot-on. Apparently DiCaprio was also a possibility for the part, and despite his recent performance in The Departed, I don’t think it would have worked. All in all, a good movie and if you’re prepared to really analyze it, lots of little things to pick up on.
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