"There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman...

Rating: 10/10 (10 June 2020)

Some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me". At first glance one might think that this is a horror film about "the perfect psychopath". It isn't. The movie deals excessively with themes of identity and standing out, and it also serves as a powerful critique to yuppie culture and late 1980s America in general. The cast is extremely talented but Christian Bale steals the show, with his memorable portayal of a completely insane individual.
Patrick Bateman is a walking contradiction. The personification of greed and insanity hiding behind the mask of a good looking yuppie. He spends the entire intro describing his morning routine, but then later in the movie he's snorting coke in a public bathroom. He goes on about helping the poor, and later on stabs a tramp to death for no good reason.
The slightest of things irritates him. He won't let people touch him and he shakes when he sees a business card that's perhaps slightly better than his. In fact thay simple card is his motivation to kill Paul Allen. He takes pleasure in killing and dismembering prostitutes, and as the film progresses he dives into insanity to the point were he can barely descern reality. His girlfriend and friends have zero meaning whatsoever to him. He doesn't work, all he cares about is music and getting reservations at fine restaurants, and murdering people of cource.
Other that the incredible portrayal of Bateman, the movie also comes with very nice cinematography with extreme attention to detail, great acting and a killer soundtrack. The movie is chilling but also hilarious due to the sheer ridiculousness of Batemans character.
But what i think sets this movie apart and makes it worth a 10/10 is the ending. The whole absurd sequence of Patrick feeding a stray cat to an ATM and randomly murdering people leads to him breaking down and confessing everything, finally seeking to be punished for his heinous crimes. But that won't come. Cause society doesnt care. The real estate agent that sells Paul Allens apartment takes care of the bodies Patrick has dismembered just to sell the apartment, and when he comes and she realises he's the killer, she just tells him to leave. Whenever Patrick confesses to his crimes noone believes him or they mishear his words. And even when he confesses everything to his lawyer, he doesnt even recognise him and thinks it's a prank cause he recently had dinner with the murdered Paul Allen. So was it all in Batemans head? Was it all real? Was parts of it real and parts of it figments of Patricks twisted imagination? Did he even kill Paul Allen? Or did the lawyer mistook Paul for another person, since it's a common thing in the movie for people not to be able to recognise one another. Regardless, Patricks "catharsis" won't come. He's trapped in this meaningless life of fancy suits, dinner reservations and senseless murder that goes unpunished. I don't think sharing my opinion of what trully went down is important, half the fun of the movie is figuring out the messages and interpreting the story as you wish.
A masterfully crafted dive into insanity. A solid 10/10 from me!