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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

American Psycho


SPOILER ALERT - if you've not seen this movie and might want to - don't read more!

So I got this movie via Netflix via a recommendation (thanks Adam!), and it's not something I would have picked up for myself ... it looks like a horror film, right? I am not a fan of horror films anymore, in fact I think the last real horror movie I watched was "Event Horizon", and that was back in 1997. Anyway, I digress - The beauty of friends making recommendations is that you experience things you might not have otherwise, and this was certainly the case. If you've seen it, you know it's more of a twisted mind screw - a psychological thriller set in the 80's. It's very basically, a story about control-freak and self-obsessed Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale), and his journey into complete madness.

I really liked this movie - It made me think, it brought a lot of questions to mind, and I see it as an excellent conversation piece. So riddle me this, readers. Did he really commit all of those murders? He'd fantasized quite a bit, so I believe that line started to blur. Were there really any murders or was it ALL fantasy? I was totally confused at the end with his lawyer saying he'd just had lunch with Paul Allen?! What about all the bodies the prostitute had come across? How about that scene where he's chasing her through the apartment building wearing nothing but socks and a chainsaw? When his secretary found his appointment book with all of the drawings, did she really figure it out or just realize he was one sick dude? OR, was she just crushed because she wanted him so badly, and that confirmed him emotionally unavailable (as she'd noted she was always attracted to)? Ladies, did you catch all the gratuitous naked Christian Bale scenes? WOW. Just Wow.

The portrayal of the 80's was great, I loved the exaggerated tones of excess and how people around him were portrayed as so apathetic and selfish. Do you think that's the decade where it all really started? I wonder. Oh, and WTF was the deal with the business cards? They were all so obsessed, I was wondering if there was more to that. Did you notice they all said "Vice President"? I was told I might find parts of this movie funny even if I didn't want to, and it was true. His diatribes about Huey Lewis, Genesis and Whitney Houston? Priceless. The dance he does before hacking up Paul Allen? I was cracking up.

I am floored by how many times he gave all the right hints to his madness - the constant quips, the drawing he was doing when breaking up with his fiance, the CONFESSION? Did they all just know he was whacked but didn't say anything because his family owned the company they all worked for?

A nice bit of trivia - the book was written by Bret Easton Ellis, who also wrote "Less than Zero". Having come across that I can see the similarities.... stories about excess in the 80's, rather dark - there's sex, addiction, at least one very messed up male, club scenes; I could go on for awhile here. Both really good flicks!

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