One of the smartest, funniest movies ever

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2007)

'American Psycho' is one of those rare films which stand up to multiple viewings and remain fresh and funny each time. It is a social satire, easily in the league of 'Fight Club' and 'American Beauty,' which points an accusing finger at the rampant materialism and shallow values of 1980s America.
Christian Bale gives an absolutely dynamic and hilarious performance as Patrick Bateman, the Wall Street yuppie who masquerades as a businessman/playboy by day and moonlights as a serial killer. The story is embellished with regular voice overs from Bateman, revealing his obsessions with such matters as who is wearing what, who has the best haircut and who has the best business card.
Patrick Bateman; "I'm on the verge of tears as we arrive as Espace... since I'm positive we won't have a decent table. But we do, and relief washes over me in an awesome wave."
Bale plays Bateman like a man who is constantly starring in his own movies - action/adventure, horror, porn and drama; and for whom others in his world are merely co-stars. But like any psychopathic maniac, underneath there is nothing there.
'American Psycho' is a perfect viewing experience for those who love an intelligent movie with first rate acting all round. Willem Dafoe makes a classic appearance as the cop who may or may not suspect Patrick; Reece Witherspoon is his shallow, airhead fiancée who is so busy planning the wedding that she doesn't notice that Patrick treats her with total indifference; Jared Leto is Patricks' idiotic Wall Street colleague, and the subject of his homicidal envy (he sports a really funny 80's hairdo); and Chloe Sevigny is Patricks' sweet natured, blindly infatuated secretary.
The film is not for those offended by sex or violence (though the violence is not particularly graphic - more implied). I can thoroughly recommend it though, just for Bales performance - which is one of the best I've ever seen in any movie. He is an actor with extraordinary range, who can play the ego-maniacal Patrick Bateman with as much ease as he plays childish innocence (as in 'All the Little Animals).