A modern art masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2013)

*warning spoilers* The movie adaptation of American Psycho is constantly neglected for its true worth by the audiences who watch it. The whole movie is based around the concept of ambiguity and the personal identity of the voyeur, therefore I believe this piece to be somewhat spectacular for its message of the society we live in. It focuses heavily on how we focus on the material possessions of a person rather than the aspects of their personality and value. This is especially clear through the business card scene as we see how, through the connotations of the card, Bateman is pressured and feels outdone, this is exactly the intentions as we are witnessing how society makes one become psychologically damaged in the struggle for social hierarchy. It is this idea of becoming the perfect social model, the 'American dream' that drives the insanity of Bateman as he pushes forward into his decent into madness. As far as the plot is concerned it is a fantastic representation of the human mind and more so a psychopathic human mind as we see how he potentially fantasises about killing people. The plot is left ambiguous so it is down to the viewer to change the perspective and look at what they think the ideas to consist of. I believe it is all a fantasy and the closest he got to killing people were the drawings in his notebook, the rest was a concoction of socially strained insanity and boredom in the sense that because he is 'perfect' there is nothing left for him to achieve. This boredom is then left to ferment in his psychotic mind and leaves us with his perspective, after all it is his narration and his story and seeing that he is insane it would be impossible for him to differentiate between his fantasies and reality, therefore giving us as the viewer his perspective.
Relating back to the idea of fantasies, we witness multiple scenes with different themes, one minute we are watching a 'black comedy' full of sharp and horrific humour, then changing to a thriller and then to what some might consider a 'slasher' movie. Although this may appear to be bad editing, it is actually a way of demonstrating the idea of lucid dreaming and how each sequence flows into one and other. This is just a personal belief of mine as I see it fitting to the themes involved.
To top it off the acting is phenomenal, an absolutely outstanding performance by Christian Bale, if it weren't for his acting I may have tuned out, because, as it happens, I was very confused by the initial events, it was only after wards, when thought was put in, that I saw the magnificence that it deserved. If you can truly see this movie for its representations of society and the deterioration of the human mind, as well as its outstanding uses of acting and mise en scene then it will truly blow you away, if still neglectful towards this piece then I urge you, sit up from your seat, the director has placed you there purposefully so that you are confused, they have given you an obscure angle, all you have to do is take the confidence to look from another angle, only then will you understand the true meaning, purpose and depth to this movie. It is a catchy artistic and well played performance, but more than that it is a beautifully mastered representation of the world we live in and how, if not careful, we can be trapped in the insanity induced nightmare of modern society.
A truly beautiful work of art, both the author and the director deserve the audiences attention for such a sterling effort, very well done.