This is American Psycho. Great great movie, a personal favorite.

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2010)

American Psycho is the story of a 20-something 1980s Wall Street exec named Patrick Bateman. He has all the money he could ever want, a beautiful fiancée, a huge apartment, and more. His lifestyle consists of getting reservations at the best restaurants, doing cocaine, working out, cheating on his fiancée with her best friend as well as several prostitutes, renting porno tapes and killing people. (He also never seems to do an ounce of work at whatever it is he does.) He doesn't understand why he does the things he does, but below the surface are clues that make it a brilliant character study, as well as a darkly hilarious satire of yuppie culture. It is also technically brilliant, with great cinematography, set designs and musical score. Watch the chainsaw scene for a good example of all of these.
Christian Bale IS Patrick Bateman. I can imagine no other actor in this role. Bateman is narcissistic perfectionist, obsessed with fashion, status and outdoing his co-workers down to the most minute details. There is a scene where he asks two women if they have ever heard of his company, and when they say no, a subtle little scowl forms on his face. This says volumes about his character, how he thinks himself as almost a god and anyone who makes him feel even remotely inadequate needs to be destroyed. Another great scene is where Patrick views a colleague's business card, which is better than his, and he appears to be sweating from every pore. If he can't be the best at everything, he starts to lose it.
He is also unable to connect with people on an emotional level, and probably likes it that way. Willem Dafoe shows up as a detective investigating one of his murders, and when he pulls out a CD from Huey Lewis and the News, (one of Bateman's favorites, but more on that later) Bateman denies being a fan of them. He doesn't like making any kind of connection with other people. In fact, Bateman has lived this way for so long that he has forgotten how to feel. (It's also strongly hinted that he might be a latent homosexual who is in complete denial to himself, at least in my opinion.) When his mistress says 'Can we talk?' he replies 'You look beautiful. There's nothing else to say.' He looks on the rest of humanity with contempt, and kills simply because he can. He has nothing in common with them, so he wants to inflict his inner pain on them. This pain is created by his empty life that is void of any meaning. He's like a king looking down on a rabble of peasants. This story could be about anyone in a position of untouchable power. The depth of his character is remarkable, and there's loads of subtext in almost every scene that make you notice something different every time you see this film. And it is very re-watchable.
The one person that sheds a light on what little humanity he has left is his secretary Jean, played by the beautiful Chloe Sevigny. He very nearly makes an emotional connection with her, and actually holds back on killing her. I think it's her innocence that saves her, because it makes her the one person who represents hope for Patrick.
Few films are able to be both shocking and funny simultaneously, but there are several moments here of ingenious black comedy. The most memorable scene involves Jared Leto's character Paul Allen. Bateman gets him drunk and takes him back to his apartment, and in the living room there are newspapers all over the floor. Bateman starts talking about Huey Lewis and the News, all while putting on a raincoat and grabbing an axe behind Paul's back. While dancing to the song Hip To Be Square, he lunges at Paul with the axe, killing him and spraying blood all over himself and the previously placed newspapers. Absolutely brilliant.
This movie is endlessly quotable, from top to bottom. The dry way the characters talk is both hilarious and pathetic. These are not sympathetic characters, but it is enjoyable to watch how they attempt to act like human beings. Who could forget lines like "It's totally disease-free" or "I'm in touch with humanity". The brutal murders are almost an afterthought to the brilliantly crafted world of Patrick's psyche.
If there is a complaint to be made about this movie, it's that it could easily be 10 minutes longer. Some brilliant sections of the book have been omitted, including some surreal and hallucinatory scenes and some hilarious lines that would have brought this to the level of a masterpiece. Maybe Harron plays it a little too safe and should have let the story run wild and unhinged. Having said this, every scene taken from the book is adapted faithfully and the things that have been added make the story better.
In 2000, who could have seen a movie like this coming? This could easily have been overlooked entirely, but as it stands today American Psycho is a cult classic. It is endlessly rewatchable, from the multiple psychological layers, to the hilarious dialogue, to the performance of a lifetime by Bale. There has never been a movie like this and there probably never will be.
This review has meant nothing... this movie is not an exit.