stellar adaptation of the misunderstood novel

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2003)

"American Psycho," which was one of the most controversial novels published in the last decade, makes for one of the most stellar, elegant book-to-film translations in quite some time. An indictment of '80's excess, the focus is on a young, extremely wealthy Wall Street yuppie named Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale, who's excellent) whose lust for material status and conformity leaves him disgusted with his fellow man. He vents his frustration and boiling rage by murdering boastful coworkers and vacant, oblivious prostitutes in all manner of ghastly ways (although, to be fair, the film comes nowhere near the graphic detail of the book). Marry Harron and cowriter Guinevere Turner have done a commendable job of organizing the scattered passages of the novel into something of a coherent narrative, and the film is alive with bright, elegant cinematography and gallows of wickedly dark humor.
8/10