A video tape you'll never want to return!

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2007)

Christian Bale proves why he's the best actor of his generation, and one of the greatest in film history, as he dominates every single scene of this blood-splattered, sadistically hilarious, strongly and bluntly satirical, well polished and freakishly enjoyable work of comic art from one-hit-wonder Mary Harron. This is Bale's best performance, and most likely the one he'll be remembered for; I'm positive that long after the mega-hype for Batman Begins has died down, people will still be quoting the charming sociopath Patrick Bateman in their daily conversations.
We follow Mr. Bateman (successful, rich stockbroker at day, narcissistic, cold-blooded psychopath at night) through his repetitive, meaningless life - meeting friends at expensive restaurants, cheating on his fiancée, comparing business cards, unsuccessfully trying to get reservations at Dorcia's, watching the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, quoting Ted Bundy for laughs, having a slightly better haircut than Markus Halberstram - as his mask of sanity slips further and further down his chiseled face. No matter how good he looks, no matter how rich and pumped he gets, no matter how many girls he bones, he just cannot find pleasure in his life. There is only one thing left to do to get that adrenaline rush: chop your friends up with axes, chainsaws, and power drills!
The movie is very violent, although not in the pornographically gratuitous way that the Saw- or Hostel-type films are violent: we never really see anyone take an axe to the head and the actual acts of violence are left to our imagination. It is also not a movie to show to your grandmother (no matter how much of a sadist she might be) since it features some graphic sex scenes (nothing above soft-core level, though). Neither sex nor violence is the movie's main focus, however: this is a pitch-black comedy which is revoltingly, side-splittingly funny if you "get" its type of humour. The comedy stems mostly from the absurdity of the uber-shallow characters and their stuffed egos. Almost every conversation is absolutely hilarious and you'll find yourself quoting the film for the rest of your life. It truly sticks with you.
The acting is superb with Bale outdoing everyone even as the supporting cast delivers solid performances left and right. The supporting actors definitely know how to make the dialogue comical and I'd love to see more of Justin Theroux (Timothy Bryce) and Matt Ross (Luis Carruthers). Jared Leto is spectacular as always, providing one of the film's most memorable scenes (and most hilarious quotes) in a small but important supporting role. An underused Willem Dafoe also makes a very eerie guest appearance as the scariest police detective of all time.
The direction is also marvelous. Mary Harron successfully melds exhilarating segments of music with high tension, comedy, and scenes which are a little of both. The final result is nothing short of a masterpiece. I still can't find a flaw with it.
I haven't read the novel by Bret Easton Ellis (yeah, yeah, I know, I suck...) and cannot compare, but if it's anywhere near as good as this film I really have to seek it out. The film, on its own, is in my opinion one of the best ever made, and one of the most sadly overlooked. Trust me, you'll never listen to Phil Collins or Huey Lewis and the News the same way again.
Simply put? American Psycho rocks, period. It's a playful, but mysterious little movie. You'll love it.