Excellent transition to screen

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2003)

I found American Psycho almost by mistake. I'd seen posters for it at the cinema but thinking it was yet another slasher pic, I ignored it. A friend of mine then told me he was reading the book, mentioning that he had bookmarked the hamster scene. My imagination ran wild and I thought that maybe there was more to the book. So I bought it at a car-boot sale and read it. Fantastic. It was this made me want to see the film and I loved it.
The movie does the book credit. Details that might have been omitted (in a typical Hollywood adaptation...) weren't and kept the story flowing. Patrick Bateman, played to perfection by Christian Bale, is the epitome of corporate America in the 80's... he just happens to be a psychopath. The recurring theme of mistaken identity is well used and the satire on the Wall Street businesses is excellent.
*** SPOILERS ***
I think the ending is not saying that he has imagined these killings. My view is that it is the film going full circle; all the way through, people are referred to by other names and in the end, it is this same phenomenon that allows Bateman to literally get away with murder. Whether he killed the wrong guy (he prides himself on knowing everyone but it would fit in with the theme if he is mistaken) or the lawyer has had lunch with another guy he mistook for Paul Allen, Bateman is off the hook and free to continue his double life. The end scene is an acknowledgement of the fact. If no-one knows or believes that a murder has been committed, has one really occurred...
*** END OF SPOILERS ***
Unfortunately, as a fan of the book, I must say that certain issues were skirted; I was particularly disappointed with the way the chainsaw was worked into the film but can see the logic behind it. On the whole, however, this is one of the best adaptations I have seen. A cult book has become destined to become a cult movie, I feel.
8/10 as I feel that given a longer playtime, the plot could have been more flowing.