It hits its mark

Rating: 9/10 (1 October 2008)

The movie itself has a weak plot. It's about a guy who kills people. Then the movie basically ends. So why is it so good?
Well, for starters the environment. All this insanity takes place with upper-class people. This adds a special dimension to the scenario. People are unable to acknowledge the situation, or deal with it - or they simply don't want to. Even Bateman himself. He can't control the murders, and even confessing them doesn't work. At the beginning, Bateman states he has no real persona. And indeed he hasn't got one. Odd thing is, having no personality, is a personality of its own. This angle is played out brilliantly. Bateman succeeds in interesting us with trivia on what lotions he uses, his feelings on business cards, apartment locations, and music preferences. Then he murders for no reason. Detective Kimball (Willem Dafoe) is another masterpiece. He's on the hunt for the killer. After watching the movie, I read the trivia. It states Kimball's scenes were shot 3 times. One thinking Bateman was the killer. One thinking he wasn't. One not knowing either way. And all Kimball's present scenes were a mix. This is exactly how I perceived it, even before reading the trivia. It makes for a great effect. Kimball's tampered personality mixes great with Bateman's surreal one. The acting is brilliant as well. Bateman (Christian Bale) has no problem portraying the variety of extreme emotions.
9/10.