Vanity is a dangerous thing

Rating: Null/10 (1 June 2000)

"American Psycho" is a truly great film. Unconventional and most certainly weird, it is a well crafted film. Why? Because it literally follows an era obsessed with Huey Lewis, business cards, and dinner menus that are metal sheets. Christian Bale is excellent as the chiseled Patrick Bateman who just cracks and becomes a destructive force to any unfortunate soul who has the misfortune to end up in his apartment. From "American Psycho", we take a look at the yuppie who is so caught up within their own pathetic existence that they are oblivious to the real world itself. An example includes a frustrated Bateman drawing a photo of one of his victim's decapitations on a paper table cover with crayons. His high maintenence girlfriend (Reese Witherspoon in a small role) is too busy looking over photos of herself. A friend had to explain the film to me after I saw it because there are a lot of details that go relatively unnoticed in the film. With considerable gore aside, "American Psycho" forces you to look at yourself as a human being and has you ask yourself "Are you happy with what you've become?" Mary Harron does an excellent job with the cast. The film centers on Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman so supporting cast members like Sevigny, Defoe, and Leto have small roles in the film.