In shock

Rating: Null/10 (18 November 2001)

I just watched American Psycho. Right now I'm a little confused, a little shocked and frankly worried that I'm not feeling as numb as I should be.
When the book came out, I avoided it. All of the negative publicity, and the shrink wrap plastic cover turned me off. A lot of column inches were filled analyzing the horror of American Psycho. I didn't feel like I was missing much. The release of the film largely passed me by. Tonight, well tonight I'm not sure why I watched it. It was just starting on the wide-screen movie channel as I clicked by; for some reason I stayed. And I was glad I did.
I tend to like black comedies, but it's so hard to get the tone right. For every "Heathers" there are a dozen stinkers with an over-stated ironic sensibility that you endure rather than enjoy (Did somebody mention Terry Gilliam?) I don't believe in 'anything goes' - but this is a funny film. There were moments of satirical absurdity which just boggled the mind and yet, and this is the odd part, were so damnably tasteful. They really pulled it off.
For a film based on a book notorious for its unrestrained portrayal of homicidal violence, there is something very restrained about American Psycho. We don't see a lot of actual violence. The real anger is reserved for Brett Easton Ellis' critique of Eighties excess. An easy target? Perhaps, but the real genius of the thing is that we empathise with the villain of the piece. Like Milton's Satan, the apparently amoral anti-hero is the most attractive character in the film. We like him, despite, and occasionally because of the actions we would normally condemn. That's a real achievement.
And the ending? Well, I didn't see that coming. A real surprise. I'm still not sure how we are supposed to read the story in light of that revelation. What's the point of the film if we can't trust anything we've seen? Why should we trust the ending? I don't have any answers for you. Maybe you should read the book. Maybe I should.