Maul Street...

Rating: 9/10 (25 May 2008)

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) has a problem. It's not work. It's not women. It's definitely not money. Nor is it his IQ, looks, shower routine or sense of fashion. You see, Patrick just can't stop killing. Men, women, friends, foes, cats, dogs, you name it he'll slay it. Butcher knives, kitchen knives, nail-guns, hand-guns, axes, chainsaws, coat-hangersyou name it he'll use it. And yes, at a glance, American Psycho may sound, seem and look like your average, banal slasher flick, but it isn't. In fact, it's far from it.
Adapted well enough from Brett Easton Ellis' seminal novel, American Psycho is a sharp, blacker than black character driven comedy. Yes, comedy. Comic in that the silkiness of the satire is so finely woven into the somberness of the subject matters (violence, rape, mental- illness, social decay) that the end product is sheer flimic and lyrical porn fit for any cult following. And even though its dry, wry humour may not be for everyone, writer/director Mary Harron's big-screen spin on one of modern fictions' most important texts is wildly entertaining; not as deep or profound or cutting as Ellis' original tale, but as a stand- alone film- it's a success.
Like the book, Harron's Psycho is set in a mid-to-late 1980's Manhattan but speaks for today. It centers on the life of 27 year old Wall Street high-flier and our least noble of narrators, Patrick Bateman. A neurotic, athletic, vain and designer-branded emblem of the mass- consuming chauvinists whose focal thoughts involved, well, money, sex and status. But Bateman is going through what can only be described as an identity crisis-cum-killing binge ("I need to engage in homicidal behavior on a massive scale"). His "mask of sanity", as he so metaphorically states, is beginning to slip and after taking an axe to one of his firm's finest chief execs', Bateman has to juggle his homicidal, sadomasochistic hobbies with unwanted attention from both Detective Donald Kimble (William Dafoe) and flakey fiancé Evelyn (Reese Witherspoon) all the while remaining on the ball at "work" and vigorous in his grooming and exercise routines (he can do a thousand stomach crunches y'know).
American Psycho, then, is a quite excellent, frivolous yet brain-teasing depiction of the distinct and now laughable mentality of the coke-fueled souls who reveled in the sheer bliss of 1980's pulp pop-culture. Released a decade on from its passing, Harron is able to channel the mindset of so many money-obsessed egomaniacs through just one, all be it extreme, character. And what a character. Bateman is erratic, embarrassing, dangerous, a Whitney Houston nut, Huey Lewis buff and connoisseur of all things mainstream. A character so deeply consumed by himself that he's an important yet utterly ridiculous commitment to fiction; an absolute blast to watch and behold ("I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?") Christian Bale operates so well within the role of Bateman that it's hard to think of any other actor that could've done a better job. It's a breakthrough performance riddled with humour, horror and meaning; emotion, class and confidence. Not only does the Welshman's captivating performance personify the mood and pacing of the tale, but shuns any memories regarding the likes of Edward Norton and Leonardo Di Caprio being originally cast for the role. He brings Ellis' icon to life and is, perhaps, the finest thing to come out of Harron's adap' (excluding the hilarious business card scene).
Credit also has to be given to Harron, though. Converting one of the most violent and controversial novels of all time into a film was never going to be easy. The unproven female director has tailored the tale for the screen well enough, though. It's refreshing to see the female half of the craft take on a film so unconventional, daring and, when the chauvinistic mannerisms of the male lead are taken into account, paradoxical.
Harron is able to inject ample substance and candour into particularly violent scenes by positioning the camera just a few inches away from the actual point of visual violence. An effective technique that evokes not visual shock, but mental. Harron demands that we imagine what the camera isn't showing us. Which is often worse thus paying off. Especially in the set-to-be infamous yet cult-embraced "Huey Lewis and the News" sequence. Which brings me smoothly onto John Cales' decade-defining soundtrack. Chock full of memorable eighties hits from Robert Palmer to Phil Collins, New Order to Chris De Burgh, Cales' song selection is straight-out of the pages of Ellis' book and is as bolstering to the placement of the tale as the sophisticated, counteracting piano score that overrides Bateman's humorous monologues.
As far as black and bold comedies go, American Psycho is right up there with the very best. It's a stylish, ingenious and disturbing revamp of a better book which brings to mind the likes of John Landis, Stan' Kubrick and the Coens. It's a candid, instant-success on behalf of the cast, Mary Harron and Christian Bale especially. Expect more from him.