Perfect casting brings it all together

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 2011)

One thing that I never hear mentioned with "American Psycho" (around these parts at least) is its production design. And this is one of my favorite things about this movie. The costuming, set dressing and locations all come together to create a believable high-end '80s world. There's genuine atmosphere here, especially with the steamy nighttime streets. It's remarkable because the movie was filmed in Toronto. They did an incredible job with the look of this movie.
The other genius move is the casting of Christin Bale as Patrick Bateman. Hes become an accomplished actor in the last 15 years, without a doubt, but this is still my favorite performance. Bateman's such an empty shell, a societal poser spewing PR blurbs, and Bale infuses him with a manic energy, balancing it with the ever-slipping sanity. His environment is full of the self-absorbed yuppie culture (no one knows anybody else) and his psychosis beautifully satirizes the self-absorbed culture where status rules. There's so much more personality here than the character had on the page.
But in the end, it's a terrific black comedy. The dialogue's chock-full of memorable one-liners (we're talking "Lebowski" levels here; even if you haven't see the movie, you've heard the quotes), the songs are great, and when all is said and done, it's just a thoroughly entertaining movie.
9/10