As Good As It Could Have Been

Rating: Null/10 (15 April 2000)

Let me just start off by saying that American Psycho is, in fact, my favorite book. I think that is a hilarious and razor sharp satire. A wonderfully funny black comedy, albeit (at times) a very graphic and disturbing one. Obviously I had very mixed feelings about the idea of an American Psycho film. It was something that I wanted to see, but at the same time, I didn't think that it could be pulled off. So it was with great reservations that I went into the theatre to see the film.	I loved it. I think that Marry Harron has made the best possible adaptation that ever could have been made from Ellis' book. Without presenting a literal adaptation Harron manages to stay very faithful to the tone and spirit of the novel. The idea of combining the Huey Lewis/Genesis/Whitney Houston chapters with the murder scenes was brilliant. By keeping the on screen violence to a minimum she let the satire shine right through.	Christian Bale's performance was fantastic. He managed to portray Bateman not just as a monster, but also as the dork that he really is. The infantile behavior of Bateman and the men around him is almost perfectly captured from the novel.	My only real complaint is that the movie could have been longer. There could have been more conversations between Bateman and the guys, Bateman and Evelyn, Bateman and Courtney. It would have added so much more depth to characters that, as is, run the risk of becoming flat. Overall though, I really enjoyed the film. This may not be the best movie that I see all year, but I think that it is as good an American Psycho movie as any fan of the book could have hoped for. 7/10