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American Psycho by Chris Phillips It's pretty tough to give us the creeps these days. So many violent images are thrust in our faces that it's near impossible to not respond numbly to them. Because of this--and I almost hate to say it--movies that are supposed to be disturbing often aren't disturbing enough. Director Mary Harron's American Psycho, based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel, attempts to get under our skin with the story of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a Wall Street yuppie addicted to designer labels, trendy restaurants and the perfect business card. Of course this story is set in the decadent 1980s (since Ellis can't seem to leave those years behind), where all of Patrick's shallow contemporaries adhere to the same rigid standards of self-worth. Patrick eats right, works out with a vengeance (Bale looks as if he was molded by Michelangelo) and undergoes rigorous skin-care treatments. In the midst of all this self-improvement, however, is one little vice: Patrick is a deranged killer who slaughters prostitutes, homeless people and even his peers. Golly, the Rat Race can be so tough sometimes. American Psycho is a fairly entertaining movie, but Harron can't seem to figure out if she wants to make a dark allegory or an over-the-top satire of, ahem, cutthroat '80s materialism. PAGE 1 | 2 |
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Bale is incredible. Speaking like Peter Jennings on uppers while stalking around Manhattan with a chip on his shoulder, Bale turns Patrick into a physical representation of white male rage (an admittedly ludicrous notion if there ever was one). Bale is funny, scary and wildly unpredictable--everything the movie tries and fails to be. Harron, thankfully, chooses to leave most of the carnage to our imaginations, but without any psychological backing for Patrick's bloody acts, they ring pretty hollow. If Patrick is really so empty inside, why is he so viciously angry? If he buys into all the rules of his position, what exactly is he rebelling against? Loads of thrillers from The Cell to Seven to even the Friday the 13th films are full of brutal images, but they don't stay with us since the characters' motivations are of little importance. The reasons behind the violence are infinitely more terrifying than the actual deeds, and a film like The Silence of the Lambs still keeps us up at night because the characters' thought-processes, no matter how bizarre, are made frighteningly clear. Patrick Bateman may be a twisted soul, but without knowing how he got there, all we can do is shake our heads and change the channel. What did you think of this movie? Sound off in the Movie Forum. PAGE 1 | 2 |
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