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American Psycho

Sometimes in movies, an acting performance overshadows the entirety of the film, shooing away a flawed plot and totally captivating us. Christian Bale stars as Patrick Bateman, a rich New York investment banker who conceals his alternative lifestyle of being a murdering, blood lusting, psychopathic killer. As the film progresses, Bateman’s alter ego becomes more prominent and overtakes him. American Psycho is based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel which is a satire on the materialistic 1980s, self-obsessed mindset society.

This role was initially offered to Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton, but in the end it went to Christian Bale. Bale gave a wild and out range in performance as he would recite the long rants about the musical significance of popular bands of the time before he killed his victims. This provided for an outrageous yet comical aspect to the film, which hooks us.

I read the novel and can tell you firsthand that the novel was even more disturbing and graphic. However, as good as Bale is in this cult classic, I thought this was a poor adaptation to the silver screen. For the first half, it is lucid and understandable what exactly is going on, but when it hits the halfway mark it takes a dive. Much is lost in the transition from novel to movie as a lot of confusion is created as to what is going on. In the end, we have some understanding of what happened, but not entirely step by step. Without reading the novel, many might be confused as to what the heck happens towards the end. And you shouldn’t have to read the book to understand the movie.

Seeing this for Bale’s performance in this satirical world is a pleasure to watch. Expecting this to be the next Oscar winning adaptation will lead to disappointments. There’s something absurd about how self-absorbed these elitist people are in this world created. When they eat out for $500 a meal, your eyes pop out, as the materiality is just mind-blowing. With this film, Bale has solidified he is one of the most talented and certainly dedicated actors out there, as his career is really blossoming.

Written by: John Berkowitz

Reviewers Rating: 7.5
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