I expected something else

Rating: 5/10 (26 May 2000)

In about 9 years ago i heard about this book that was being banned here in Norway. It was "provokingly violent" and contained "sick details about a serial killer", i believe it also in one radio show was called "typical american, that means -no moral"...
I was intrigued. I`ve always been interested in human behaviour and fascinated by serial killers (not that i think its a good thing).

I read the book and i belive it is the best book ever written. I`ts not poetic and certainly not teardripping.
It`s simply a fascinating story about Patrick Bateman and his life. If you read this comment you`ve probably allready seen the movie or read the book so i won`t go into details...
On the other hand i will tell you my thoughts about the movie:
1. Christian Bale plays a good Bateman, but he should have been portrayed as taller, more brutal, powerful and on the edge!
2. It should have started with a look back at the eighties, and not just take it for granted that the audience knows. Bateman should have entered the movie later, and on a time that we were not expecting it.
3. Bale is more than ok when it comes to Batemans coldness and numness. On the other hand you never see a glimpse of Patricks insanity: that crazy look that tells you he`s gonna eat his victims brain for dinner, or stick a knife through someones eye really slowly.
4. In the book you get a much greater sense of how Bateman treats other people as thin air. In the movie it seems like he actually care sometimes.
And most important:
5. It`s totally impossible to make a movie of this book and not let the audience see any terror, fright, physical and not least the mental hell Batemans victims go through. All you can see is a few corpses hanging in a closet, when he kicks a dog and shoots a few people. This is not Patrick Bateman from the book, it`s a regular thriller movie about a man gone bad. Not a man gone monster.
I understand that the film has gotten many good rewievs becouse of this. I could not disagree more. The fact that kids (15 year olds) are allowed to see it in Norway tells a lot...
I hope one day another director with a vision to realise Patrick Bateman comes along.
Untill then, I prefer the book.