A dark and violent satire of America in the 1980s.

Rating: 7/10 (10 August 2010)

American Psycho the novel remains a controversial piece of literature. Though now it's considered to be a modern classic. American Psycho the film turns out to be much less controversial. That's because just about all the coarse language, sex and torture scenes weren't included. Instead director Mary Harron smartly focused on the novel's black comedy and character study. Christian Bale is fantastic in the lead role. Just watch his confession on the phone at the end of the film for proof. The looks he gives, the way he talks and moves, and his appearance are very good. In my opinion he's not quite the ideal Patrick Bateman but he comes very close. The murder chapters in the novel gave it an edge, made it more memorable. The exclusion of most of these murders from the film made the cinematic endeavour tamed in comparison. Let's face it, what's shown in the film isn't anything new for cinema. There are films that are much more disturbing and bloody than American Psycho. In any case the murders would have been hard and costly to film if they were included. With the film's minor budget and the controversy surrounding the novel these scenes weren't attempted. What surprised me most, however, was that fitting actors were cast in the supporting roles. They looked and acted the way they were supposed to. Reese Witherspoon played the role of Evelyn Williams. Very nice. Harron's direction turns out to be good as well. Most novel to film adaptations are junk, but here the results are quite good. Thankfully, Bateman's 1980s music reviews (Genesis, Whitney Houston, Huey Lewis & The News) were incorporated into a few scenes. Not in their entirety obviously but some of the best parts are there. The film's comedy is very fine. The story's horror elements are what's best though. Bateman has many characteristics of 1980s society and modern society in general. That's what makes him so important; he just represents the extremes of what people think and how they act nowadays. Even if they don't like to admit it many people resemble Bateman in some way. The soundtrack is, for the most part, upbeat. Cinematographer Andrzej Sekula captured the New York scenery that was necessary. It's not an ideal-looking film set in the 1980s but it's not bad. American Psycho the film is not a bad companion piece to the novel. It's an intellectual horror film; one of the best horror films of the last decade in fact. I recommend it.