A Patrick Bateman sampler without the gore.

Rating: Null/10 (14 April 2000)

For those who read the book, American Psycho the movie will seem more like a Patrick Bateman sampler. Which isn't to say that this is a bad film. Christian Bale does an amazing job of portraying the unraveling madness of Bateman but it is done in a rapid, abbreviated way, apart from the novel.
What's missing are the establishing events like the endless clothing descriptions, the vapid discussions between Patrick and his wall street cronies and, of course, the brutal displays of Bateman's psychotic rage. You get bits and pieces of all of these but not enough to really appreciate the Jekyll and Hyde persona of the Patrick Bateman of the book. The humour aspect of the film is played very well but I missed the relationships of Patrick and his unwitting co-workers, his girlfriend, Evelyn, and his love-struck secretary, Jean. The movie stands pretty well on it's own but I think you lose something if you haven't read the book first.
The film does a great job of showing the absurdness of a high-profile wall street executive who enjoys butchering women and I recommend it but don't expect the shocking portrayal of the book.