Psychotic charisma

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2013)

A film everyone knows to at least exist. A film that is said to capture the ugly underbelly of modern society, of modern America. And, in a way, it does just that. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a horrible human being. He's man obsessed with style, fashion, appearances, pop culture, sex and looking good in front of the crowds, a flawed human being that we all want to be. We all want to be him because he's rich, successful, extremely good looking and sexually active. He's everything we are told to be and everything we want to be, in our darkest dreams.
This is a brutally honest film. It's very direct, very straight to the point and it has a clear message: modern society is obsessed and its obsession is not productive. This single point is supported by a clear vision from the director, an amazing acting talent from Bale and a story that has no wasted motions, no wasted scenes. It's all a single, flawless trip through a flawed wasteland that is a modern day utopia.
A lot has been written about the ending. Some say it's just perfect, some that it's hard to understand, some that it could have been better, some that it ruins the whole film and some that it's the single flaw in a perfect film. I tend to think that the whole film is about the aimlessness of modern day society, about the meaninglessness of living in a society this obsessed with appearances. So why shouldn't the ending be just as meaningless? Still, it's a pretty jarring ending that will alienate at least half of the viewers, which is never a good thing. It could have been better, in my opinion.
This is a fascinating film. It's brutal, it's stylistic, it's honest, it's confusing, it's slick, it's jarring, it's an experience worth having.