The "Our Little Secret" for Guys Film

Rating: 9/10 (6 October 2005)

"My name is Patrick Bateman. I am twenty-six years old. I live in the American Garden Buildings on West Eighty-First Street, on the eleventh floor..." Patrick Bateman establishes his persona quickly: cold; cynical; emotionless; self-involved - a raging Larry David. Based on Bret Easton Ellis' late 80's fictional book, "American Psycho", the story was rewritten for the screen, and deviates at times. Patrick might be said to be an image of Bret, a reflection of an over-obsessed materialistic metro-sexual with a grumble for blood and the suffering of others.
"My nightly bloodlust has overflowed into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy." Is Patrick akin to our true-selves, in the Freudian sense? Is the attraction to his character due to the envy of his ability to cathartically release his daily fits of rage upon those around him? Perhaps the film is therapeutic in this way, as we live out our logically constructed fantasies through Patrick. But are any of Patrick's "wrongdoings" real? The question is left with the viewer, in that reality must be measured against psychological defense mechanisms.
But Patrick, whether actually or artificially, lets his emotions flow, and the film gives a superb, terse yet detailed snapshot of this process. Some may disagree, and the film has had mixed reviews, yet, the movie is a final statement. An ode to metro-sexual men, spawning their veil of ignorance during the latter 80's. It gives to us a view of ourselves which touches upon the incredibly competitive aspects of society, and the way it reveals itself, even subtly.
Patrick and his clan, Wallstreet brokers, busy themselves with details like the font on their business cards, Oliver People glasses, restaurants, etc. They are all narcissists living empty lives, filling the void with belongings and good looks. They struggle, unprepared, with their "new" material desires: in Patrick's case, they overflow. They hate each other, and have perhaps no direction. Fashioned with a strong story and fine acting, alongside its take on a phenomena just surfacing in the time it was depicted, this film is a milestone both cinematically and, as one of the few mainstream American films to take seriously mans transition from the traditional roles they subscribed to in the 50's-70's.
It is recommended, if not for the feeling of a release on society, but for a look at what first generation metro-sexuals were like in their niche.