Hey Paul.

Rating: 8/10 (17 May 2016)

It would be a mistake for anyone viewing this film to search for meaning, when the story, the characters, and the culture within are utterly worthless. Any purpose they think they might have, or any significance they place on their meager actions are masked by a cloud of indifference so large that all there really is but the very delusion of the yuppie culture that further perpetrated such shallowness. It is from this nothingness that American Psycho can actually acquire meaning in its overall analysis of a capitalistic culture, which is enabled by soulless snobs that model themselves after Donald Trump. American Psycho is adapted from the novel of the same name by Brett Easton Ellis, who got a lot of flak upon the release back in 1991 for its portrayal of violence towards women, along with its misogynistic protagonist Patrick Bateman. It's not a pretty film to watch given its gruesome form of violence. But it can be amusing in its own sadistic fashion, as Christian Bale and other talented actors all depict a culture so sexist, and so indifferent to their materialistic gains that the only thing a viewer can do while watching is laugh at how disgusting the world of American Psycho is, and what it says about how American culture itself has become so soulless and boring to the point where it seems like we've been butchering each other for decades on and on. The setting is during the 1980's, and the story is mostly focused on the life of Yuppie, Patrick Bateman (Bale), who through his calm and subtle narrations, enlightens us viewers with his story and the very details he takes into account. Patrick gives us his address, workout regimen, taste for well-tailored suits, fine dining, and even his newly developed desire for murder. Patrick's contemplation of his craving at times can be at a blur, given that he does not fully understand his newly developed lust. And even the pattern in which he selects his victims can be at times random. It's hard to tell who he is particularly aiming at, or if he is trying to aim at that matter, given that most of his murders are executed with brutal and monstrous violence, but with poor ambiguity. Whether Patrick cuts off his associate's head clean off, or drops a chainsaw over a girl's back, one thing for sure is that he never gets caught. Strange to imagine, but most of Bateman's murders often go unpunished, or unnoticed, no matter how much he utters such confessions as, "I like to dissect girls", or "Did you know I'm utterly insane?"
Be it drugs, alcohol, or meaningless materialism, Bateman and his colleagues are the purest representations of 1980's yuppies, as they frequent nightclubs, carry mistresses, and utter their own misogyny as though they were the remarks of poets than that of pigs. The only thing that separates Bateman from this cloth of snobs more is his desire for carnage as he repeatedly narrates about his confusion to this newly developed craving, thus illustrating a darker and more horrifying critique of this capitalist culture. Patrick Bateman is funny, being mostly cynical and overly chauvinistic to the point where he himself is a joke of an indifferent and materialistic era in American culture. His desire for money, fine clothing, physical perfection, and even his drug cravings represent the more typical representations of an American yuppie. But his violent appetite for murder and rape lead his mind to slip into more nihilistic territory, as he describes himself as , "I am simply not there", while equally lamenting over his victims demises. It's hard to determine whether or not these murders are actually committed, considering how Patrick is able to get away with them perfectly, and yet hardly ever bringing any effort into covering them up. This term "normal" is something that completely alludes a character such as Patrick Bateman. He does all he can to appear normal and to "fit in", as he stresses it and he even indulges in the same stupidities as his colleagues. And yet, he is far from the average human. Yes, he has flesh, blood, skin, and hair, but he claims that his emotions are not identifiable to other people, and even though he has small traces of those emotions whenever he tries to connect with his Secretary Jean (Sevigny), who has a crush on him, and in Patrick's eyes is the only person he can't bring himself to hurt, despite his attempts. Maybe Patrick's violent sadism is focused on the yuppies who mindlessly live with their drug use and their lavish spending, or maybe his new appetite is the signification that he has reached a higher state of being, thus surpassing the materialistic means of the culture of which he has dwelled in and very much become a victim of for too long. It's never certain as to what brought out this sudden desire for mayhem in Patrick. But it is all he knows and wants from this point on, as he sees that the world is riddled with the sort of indifference that enrages and allows him to justify his sadistic desire to kill. American Psycho is a cult thriller, with its equal share of laughs, but that's only if you have a dark side of your own. In the big picture, it is a critique of capitalism, and the sort of indifference and apathy it cultivates and nurtures to the point where it becomes habit and routine for people like Bateman. But on a deeper level, I think it is reasonable to say that this criticism is also focused on Bateman's violent appetite, which is a result of this culture, and it is the next step as he has surpassed the indifference that materialism fosters, and embarked on journey that will probably not change or mean anything significant to the world, given that he sees it as nothing but an abyss of meaninglessness, with merely corpses to fill his lust.