An alternate statement about the eighties?

Rating: 6/10 (23 January 2005)

I was passed the book from a friend some years ago, and way before any violence occurred I was finding it a hard read. The first few chapters where so full of over descriptive babel I found it hard to believe it had ever been published, there was just too much attention being paid to what seemed like trivial things. I got it in the end, Bateman's whole world thrived on detail and statement, many films may give you "a slice" of the eighties but this one gives it in a way that wont make you grimace with embarrassment and say "jeez do you remember wearing things like that or listening to that" its more likely to leave you feeling ashamed of a decade where everything became disposable and fake. But all this is just the backdrop to Bateman's world.
Mary Harron did a fantastic job in bringing this to film,I didn't think anyone would go near it. I have had endless arguments with people about whether or not the murders where just all in his mind. Its my opinion that they did occur, but that nobody really cared.Why would they?, as long as they got the south east contract and could get into the most exclusive bars and restaurants. Something that I feel lost its impact from its move to film was, as a male; the uncomfortableness it left me with. There was chapters in the book that where quite obviously meant to arouse you, and they did. This would cut quite sudden to Bateman torturing and killing women. This was a very alarming place to find yourself in. Maybe I feel the film lacked this because I had already experienced this, and maybe because by this stage I realised it was it was a trick employed by Brett Easton Ellis to get you somehow closer to Bateman's state of mind, and get across the idea that the line between his enjoyment of sex and murder had blurred.
This film got a lot of flack from women's groups who claimed that it promoted misogyny and depicted women as victims. All of my female friends that have seen the film or read the book have not seen this at all. They have in fact, compared to myself and male friends that have seen/read it; found it the least disturbing.
Christian Bale was superb. While at the time I only knew him from his childhood film, Empire of the sun. I was a relief to hear he was getting the role as rumours had it that Leonard DiCaprio's was being considered for the role. I am not DiCaprio's bashing, but everything about the role demanded someone who could portray a powerful man and Leonard frankly wasn't built for the job.