Bale's perfect performance; short running time of movie leaves holes

Rating: Null/10 (24 May 2001)

Spoilers are contained in this review, FYI. I would say American Psycho had bits of existentialism, self-exploration, and an interesting mix of psychology. It is about an off-centered fellow named Patrick Bateman who, on almost all levels, is the same as you and me, except that he is incredibly articulate in his talk and his thought process, yet acts on his innermost feelings without any type of "filter", i.e. if he gets mad at you, he'll just kill you. He doesn't seem capable of empathy, yet there is a scene in which he breaks down and confesses his murders, and the "child" within him is brought to the surface. The movie hints at many things but never brings each one to fruition: the relationship between his secretary and how she serves as some moral "signpost" in some ways; how he would say one thing such as "Im into murders and executions" but people would think he said "Mergers and acquisitions" (possibly some kind of people are self-centered theme/only hear what they want to hear?); and the ending with Reagan on TV (minor political commentary/ more largely the story being a metaphor on ethics).
This movie reminds me much of Sartre's "The Stranger", and a little bit of Kafka's "Metamorphosis", both of which have to do with identity, ethics, and communication. In the end of American Psycho, Bateman reaches out, but no one hears, or wants to hear; his conclusion is that it never mattered much in the first place. See this movie if you want a good chat afterwards!