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For me, the old adage "you haven't seen a film unless you've seen it twice" couldn't be more applicable when it comes to American Psycho. Upon my first viewing years ago, I didn't think much of it; seeing it last night on the big screen was a dramatically different experience. As a film critic said, this film is a smart, dark, funny, and boldly profound satire that cleverly equates materialism, narcissism, misogyny, and classism with homicide. It's one man's sobering realization of the shallow life he leads, and his desperate attempt to get out of it--which, thanks to a brilliantly staged ambiguous ending, we're not sure if he does (or is that even an option?).
American Psycho (2000) Movie Synopsis
Bret Easton Ellis's dark and violent satire of America in the 1980s is brought to the screen in this unsettling drama with blackly comic overtones. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), the son of a wealthy Wall Street financier, is pursuing his own lucrative career with his father's firm. Bateman is the prototypical yuppie, obsessed with success, fashion, and style. He is also a serial killer who murders, rapes, and mutilates both strangers and acquaintances without provocation or reason. Donald Kimble (Willem Dafoe), a police detective, questions Bateman about the disappearance of Paul Allen (Jared Leto), whom Patrick murdered several days earlier. As Kimble stays on Bateman's trail, Bateman's mask of studied, distant cool begins to fall apart. American Psycho also features Reese Witherspoon as Bateman's girlfriend, as well as Samantha Mathis, Chloe Sevigny, and Guinevere Turner; the latter also co-authored the screenplay. Controversy followed the production from the start, when speculation that Leonardo Di Caprio would play Bateman sparked concerns that he would lure preteens to an R-rated movie. Di Caprio soon bowed out of the project, and original leading man Bale was reinstated. Later, a group of Toronto residents attempted to block filming in that city after Canadian serial killer Paul Bernardo claimed that Ellis's novel inspired his murder spree. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
American Psycho (Uncut Killer Collector's Edition)
Christian Bale (Actor), Justin Theroux (Actor), Mary Harron (Director) | Rated: Unrated | Format: DVD
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American Psycho (2000) Movie Quotes
Patrick Bateman: You're a f*cking ugly biatch. I want to stab you to death, and then play around with your blood.
Patrick Bateman: That's a very fine chardonnay you're drinking. I want you to clean your v*g*na.
Patrick Bateman: I don't want to get you drunk, but, ah, that's a very fine Chardonnay you're not drinking.
Patrick Bateman: You're dating Luis, he's in Arizona. You're f*cking me and we haven't made plans. What could you possibly be up to tonight?
Evelyn Williams: You hate that job anyway. I don't see why you don't just quit.
Patrick Bateman: Because I want to fit in.
Patrick Bateman: Just say no.
Patrick Bateman: Hey, I'm a child of divorce, gimme a break!
Patrick Bateman: [voiceover] I'm on the verge of tears by the time we arrive at Espace, since I'm positive we won't have a decent table. But we do, and relief washes over me in an awesome wave.
Craig McDermott: Cheer up, Bateman. What's the matter? No shiatsu this morning?
Patrick Bateman: New York Matinee called it "a playful but mysterious little dish".
Patrick Bateman: I killed Paul Allen. And I liked it.
American Psycho (2000) Movie Trailer
