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American Psycho: A Movie About... Nothing?

A Review by Nick Watts & Ben Foster

"I saw a movie ripe with dark humor, violence, and odd cultural satire, yet as I left the film I felt as though I'd seen nothing, and learned nothing at all"(Ben Foster) ... and that's the beauty of the thing.

American Psycho, adapted from Bret Easton Ellis' novel, traces the flight into insanity and homicidal mania of Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale), a 27 year-old egocentric business executive mired in eighties yuppie culture. Bateman's days are filled with intense jealousy over such important business items as business cards (who's is most expensive?), dinner reservations (who's eating with whom?, who's got the best table?), and tans (salon or home tanning bed?). There is a constant confusion of characters, as everyone is such a magazine cutout, and no one is really ever sure who anyone else is. A humorous scene demonstrating that very fact occurs during a business card exchange - every card belongs to a vice president.

Bateman's nights, however, make-up for his high-paced, yet pointless, days, as he mindlessly and sometimes carelessly slaughters more people than he can even remember. This is not really a problem until his blood lust begins leaking into his days. As the film progresses, the audience begins to witness the unnerving of a corporate vice president whose greed and need to be accepted begin taking him over. The only thing is, everyone else is so wrapped up in one's "identity" that they don't even realize what is happening. By the end of the movie, the feeling of greed and lust is so frequent that the audience can easily ask if they just witnessed this, or if it was all imagined.

This movie has plenty of scenes to shock and turn the stomach.

However, the most grotesque images of the film are not the multiple murders (none of which are actually shown to the audience) and "sick puppy antics" of the anti-hero Patrick Bateman, but in the multiple corporate scenes, where plasticity and greed are at their peak. Bateman's "supposed fiance" (played by Reese Witherspoon) is marvelously fake and is so concerned with the appearance of things that she has no idea what is going on in the world. There are no characters with any depth aside from Bateman, and the only reason he has depth is because he realizes that he is absolutely a fake.

Welsh actor Christian Bale was perfect in his role as Bateman.

His affected Americanized accent was on target for the depiction of a shallow, materialistic Wall Street executive. Bale plays the affectation to its fullest in the murder scenes, giving the scenes an eerie and spine tingling feel. His character allows him to demonstrate his wide range of skills.

If you go to see this film, which we recommend you do (Ben with a little reservation), keep your eyes and ears open for what is said and what the characters think is said. This is a finely crafted film with amazing cinematography, remarkable acting, and a well-structured plot.

The subject and theme are not something that the audience is use to by any means, and this may put a few people off, but an open mind and the realization that it is only a movie will reduce the possibility of scarring. Anyone looking for a slightly cerebral flick with dark humor will certainly enjoy American Psycho.

This entire critique has meant nothing at all.