An Intriguing Blend Of Comedy & Horror That Rides High On Christian Bale's Knockout Performance!

Rating: Null/10 (28 October 2015)

A social satire on the materialistic, self-obsessed & greed-driven upper society of the 1980s America which also mocks male narcissism, American Psycho presents a community made up of people who have all the luxury that money can buy yet no individuality of their own, a world where everyone looks, dresses & acts exactly the same and measure themselves only by their external appearances & material possessions.
Based on the novel of the same name, American Psycho tells the story of Patrick Bateman; a wealthy, narcissistic & material-obsessed investment banker living in New York during the late 1980s who's a stereotype of the yuppie generation & leads a secret life as a serial killer. But the mask of outer perfection he's put up so well to hide his psychopathic persona from his co-workers & friends begins to slip when he delves deeper into his darker fantasies.
Co-written & directed by Mary Harron, American Psycho is a captivating study of a madman who simultaneously obsesses & criticises the shallow culture he's a part of and attempts to hide his chaotic personal life through excessive vanity & beautification. Harron's direction is good for she manages to take the story through the narrow route that blurs the line between fiction & reality and although the ambiguity is maintained for the most part, it inadvertently falls apart in the final act.
The screenplay is no slouch for the story maintains its stringent focus on its lead character, who is present in every scene of the movie. Everything is told from Bateman's perspective and it is through his decadent lifestyle that the writers are critiquing the hedonistic society he simply happens to be a byproduct of. The script also showcases a fine balance between the elements of comedy & horror and there are moments which will be disturbing to few but hilarious to others for the exact same reason.
Production design team does a stellar job with extravagant-looking set pieces that suit the environment this film tries to establish. Cinematography is much dependent on which side of Bateman we are witnessing for the camera exhibits calm, controlled movements when he appears normal and turns chaotic whenever he reveals his true face. Editing steadily paces the whole story and sustains the ambiguous nature of the unfolding events to some extent. Lastly, the soundtrack cleverly puts together some existing songs that ties into its events.
Coming to the performances, American Psycho features an excellent cast in Christian Bale, Chloë Sevigny, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon & others, and all of them are thoroughly convincing in their given roles. Bale however takes it to another level with a truly committed act that finds the actor transforming his body to match the physical aspects of his character and then diving into the psyche of a psychopath. He's also responsible for the humour that forms an integral part of the story and while he's well supported by the rest of the cast, this is his show all the way.
On an overall scale, American Psycho is an intriguing blend of comedy & horror that rides high on Christian Bale's knockout performance which ultimately brushes away many of its shortcomings. The equivocal aspect of this tale is almost destroyed by its poorly executed final act and is destined to compel most viewers to incline towards a simpler interpretation. But if one takes into account the mistaken identity theme, which is consistently addressed throughout the movie, then its satirisation of the 1980s yuppie-greed culture gains an even greater depth. Although its impact lessens on every subsequent viewing, American Psycho nevertheless deserves a watch or two for Bale's swashbuckling inputs alone. Don't miss it.