Very cool

Rating: Null/10 (8 September 2001)

The atmosphere of this movie is energetic, stylish, and at the same time cold and clinical, much like the eighties were, from certain perspectives. Before Bateman kills or is going to have sex, he recites inane musical reviews of the popular bands and singers of the day, like Huey Lewis and the News, Whitney Houston and Phil Collins. Meanwhile, his apartment looks like hotel kitchen with extra rooms.
Anyway, British actor Christian Bale plays Patrick Bateman like a cross between Ted Bundy and Basil Fawlty.
Which brings me to the movie itself. It is a very black comedy, where you are (hints of 80s maverick Wes Craven?) never sure where reality ends and Bateman's imagination begins (is his name even Bateman?). Are the murders real or in his head? One hint is that he can't seem to be arrested, no matter how hard he tries or how obvious he is. Another is that Bateman is portrayed as cool and collected, ruthless, but at the end of the movie he is also described as a wimp. The recanteur's perception, or reality?
A very good movie, if you don't mind gore (there wasn't much of it) and like 80s culture.