Simply Irresistible

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2010)

Impossibly vain and hot-bodied Christian Bale (as Patrick Bateman) enjoys looking good, eating in fine Manhattan-area restaurants, and blondes coming in pairs. His yuppie world is shattered when cute colleague Jared Leto (as Paul Allen) shows off a better business card, and an ability to score Friday evening reservations at "Dorsia". So, meanwhile, or coincidently, Mr. Bale's homicidal tendencies veer out of control. Previously, Bale killed a random night-time pick-up; now a rampant blood-lusting "American Psycho", Bale begins to kill almost anything that moves
This bizarre satire on 1980s serial killers, musical tastes, and Reaganomics was based on a more gruesome (than even this "Unrated Cut" film) novel by Bret Easton Ellis. The level of gore aside, director Mary Harron's "American Psycho" is very different, in tone; and, that's entirely acceptable. It's stranger on film to see Bale getting away with so much mayhem - and his aim with a chainsaw is to die for - but, the film's flaw, in my opinion, is that the story "twist" (the questionable reality concerning Bateman's crimes) is not possible according to what you see on screen.
Mainly, this is due to very strong performances by a couple of women in the cast. It's impossible, for example, to consider pining secretary Chloe Sevigny (as Jean) operating in the protagonist's psyche solely - this is painfully obvious when she sits at his desk, and looks through his doodles. The "point-of-view" is clearly off the mark. Prostitute Sara Seymour (as "Christie") is another registering such a strong characterization. These lovely, vulnerable performances are too hip for the room. Others in the cast operate in the killer's world. Bale's lead is excellent.
******* American Psycho (1/21/00) Mary Harron ~ Christian Bale, Chloe Sevigny, Sara Seymour, Guinevere Turner