I love this movie. And I love the fact that such a misogynistic and violent movie is directed by a woman. The director is Mary Harron and this was her second movie. American Psycho is originally a book written by bisexual author Brett Easton Ellis. The only reason I mention his sexuality is because I feel it dampens any accusation about a typical hypermasculine man showing misogyny. The book was highly controversial when it came out because of its depictions of murder and sexual assault against women. And as a disclaimer, I have not read the book so I will specifically just be inferring about the movie.

The opening credits show us many delectable dishes from probably a five-star restaurant while classical music plays in the background. Not how I would expect this movie to start and that is exactly why it already gains points on my list. The main character Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), throughout the movie, basically acts like a narrator and gives us a real good perspective of what kind of person he is. He does not pull any punches when describing his opinions about what is currently happening and about himself. I laugh when he describes himself as an 'entity.' This movie to me is a dark comedy. I always find myself laughing at this movie. When he calls himself an entity I'm already enamored by him. I love characters who believe themselves to be larger than life and say it with a straight face.

We first realize that Patrick is a highly neurotic man with a penchant for caring what other people think when he tells us that he was relieved when he found out that the restaurant Espace was giving him and his guests a decent table. The word 'relieved' just makes me chuckle. I can't imagine living my life like that. To be anxious about where the restaurant is going to seat me is probably the last thing on my mind. I honestly feel sorry for Patrick. He certainly is showing a mask to everyone around him when he starts spouting a goody-two-shoes persona and saying we need to end apartheid (the movie takes place in the 80's), end the nuclear arms race, etc. And I'm not entirely clear whether or not his friends at that time are too blind to see through his bullshit. This uncertainty presents an interesting idea to me. Is it possible to easily convince your friends and acquaintances that you are an entirely different person? Or is that just something a sociopath can do efficiently while the rest of us need to work extra hard. Another thing I love about Patrick is that overall he is polite but can be very savage at times e.g. when his gay co-worker, Luis, who has an interest in him admires his suit and Patrick retorts, "Your compliment was sufficient," after slapping his hand away from his suit.

Despite this movie making me laugh it also makes me feel very uneasy. There is a scene where Patrick is walking through an alley and he sees a homeless man and Patrick offers him help first and pretends to be courteous with him but then proceeds to ridicule him and finally just outright stabs the man to death and just walks away. That's the kind of shit that hits you home and you start feeling disgusted by Patrick. Speaking about disgust, our narrator tells us that he has no identifiable emotion except for greed and disgust. That is some dark shit. I would include envy to that remark because a big part of the movie has to do with muthafuckin Paul Allen! Bateman seems to be obsessed with this man and how Allen's achievements surpass his own. When Bateman and his coworkers are showing each other their business cards and he asks to see Paul Allen's card he actually perspires and lets the card drop from his hand out of some kind of shock. His direct thinking quote while holding the card is, "Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh, my God. It even has a watermark." That's probably one of the funniest parts of the movie because it's so absurd to me that at the end of the day we are talking about just a card but Patrick just takes it to a whole new level. Another example of his envy is when after he kills Allen and goes to his apartment to make it look like he went away on business he tells us, "There is a moment of sheer panic when I realize his apartment overlooks the park."

Let's move on to a scene that shows Bateman in probably his truest form. A detective comes in to talk to Patrick about the disappearance of Paul Allen regarding the fact that he was one of the last people to see Allen. The detective says, "One day someone is walking around, going to work..alive and then..," Bateman interrupts and whispers enthusiastically, "Nothing." And the detective just nods after that. That would have definitely been a red flag for me but maybe we are not meant to know what the detective is actually thinking. Although, personally I believe the detective does not think that Patrick is the killer. This slip from Patrick says volumes about him. He is clearly obsessed with death and being the instrument of said death. He takes pride in hurting others almost as if it's a duty of his to inflict pain on others.

Things are not going well for him throughout the movie. The rug is slipping from under him. He does these slips more and more almost as if he wants get ousted as a fraud. He flat out tells his girlfriend that he has a need for homicidal attacks and she just brushes this comment off as if she is clueless or just simply not really listening to him. After a bad night for him of inflicting a succession of killings he calls his lawyer and leaves a message with him hysterically admitting to being a murderer and needing help. This scene of leaving the voicemail is my favorite in the movie because the actor does such a great job of being in a panic as the situation should entail. This would be my dream scene to act myself although I definitely acknowledge that it would be extra challenging.

Patrick runs into his lawyer at a hang out spot for him and his buddies and confronts the lawyer. He inquires about the voicemail and the lawyer just tells him that it was a great prank. Patrick gets serious with him and tells him he murdered Paul Allen. To which the lawyer responds that simply cannot be because he had lunch with Paul Allen in London twice. The lawyer just doesn't know who's who. He doesn't know who Patrick or Paul is. Which kind of hints at the author's viewpoint of Wall Street people being all the same conniving rich bastards with no real distinction from one another. Bateman is exasperated and surprised. He looks both disappointed and apathetic at the same time. This character has so many layers that just makes me like him even more. And I didn't even mention his secretary Jean and how for some unknown reason used all his willpower to stop himself from killing her. As the final line of the movie, he tells us, "There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it I have now surpassed. My pain is constant and sharp, and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact, I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape. But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis; my punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing."

I will be back with another movie and provide my thoughts but first, "I have to return some videotapes."