A Cynical Social-Commentary, and One Which Is Irresistibly Relevant For Today's World

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2008)

Christian Bale is arguably modern cinema's most underrated actor. I sometimes consider hailing him as the greatest performer of this generation, particularly whenever I re-watch his leap-to-fame performance in American Psycho. On its release it erroneously received mixed acclaim; nevertheless, Bale was nearly always commended for performing in the remarkably charismatic role of Patrick Bateman. The character ranks among contemporary literature's greatest creations, and back in 2000 a young Bale somehow managed to embody the yuppie maniac. The character's slickly menacing demeanour, attentive idiosyncrasies, and always brewing revulsion is intuitively mastered in this offbeat satire. Patrick Bateman is both the definitive New York yuppie and the ultimate sociopath. He is masked by the Wall Street businessman persona, and his pastime activities are unnoticed by his self-obsessed associates- like himself. He thrives off a colossal maze of jealously, established on distaste for any minor, physical and social hiccup. Little do such men know that they are dehumanising any merit they once had.
Bret Easton Ellis' original novel contains possibly the most graphic depictions of sex and violence in any novel I have ever read. Appropriately, director Mary Harron places much of the novel's explicit content off-screen, similar to how the book simply lets the reader imagine the vivid nature of the content. For this reason, American Psycho is faithful to its source, and for a novel which includes such terminal violence there is still a huge amount of wit and charm. This owes to the book's satirical disposition, with its brazen accuracy and jagged humour. It is in many respects an absurdist's take on an already surreal culture; this lends the questionable theme of subjective reality to the protagonist's actions and experiences. Mary Harron utilises the satirical facets of the novel, and essentially uses satire as a device of ridiculing yuppie culture. Nevertheless, the component which is best suited is that this image of an alpha-male dominated society, which is directed from a female standpoint, but not an overtly feminist one. More than anything, American Psycho is a critique of ignorance, materialism and self-infatuation.
The cast play it cool throughout the feature, concurrently sinking their teeth into the bitter irony of cultural stereotypes. For those of you who might be put off by the sardonic title; don't be. This is a twisted and intelligent take on cultural archetypes, with much prominence being placed on whether the viewer deems Patrick Bateman's sociopath alter-ego a manifestation of sub-conscious monotony or that he is genuinely committing the murderous, masochistic acts shown on screen. Whichever way you look at it, there is no definitive answer, but one thing is for sure, that this cinematic assertion is a strong sentiment of yuppie narcissism. As dark as it may seem, there is no denying the indisputable entertainment quality of a film crammed with meaningful malevolence. This is a film which unsympathetically attacks the business world, implying that dumb people from wealthy backgrounds are groomed for slacker success. These white collar machines are not savvy, nor do they even so much as turn a blind-eye to anyone other than their materialistic statements of self-worth. In a way, this is their only means of clinging onto reality, for they hide behind their denial, with a reputable image of self-worth.