American Psycho (2000)

AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000) / ***

Directed by Mary Harron. Screenplay by Harron and Guinevere Turner, from the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Starring Christian Bale, Chloe Sevigny, Willem Dafoe. Running time: 102 minutes. Rated R for extreme violence and graphic sexual content (MFCB). Reviewed on April 17th, 2000.

By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

Few movies have engendered such controversy as "American Psycho". Not only has there been concern over its violent and sexual content, but the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel upon which the film is based is notorious for having been read by Karla Homolka, accomplice of convicted sex murderer Paul Bernardo.

But those who have sought to censor "American Psycho" have done so with little merit. This is not a movie about murder per se, and any intelligent watching of the film should make that obvious. Does the lead character, Patrick Bateman, kill people? Yes, and the implication is that many more die off-screen. But this very fact -- that much of Bateman's crime spree is referred to only in passing -- makes it clear that the movie is less concerned about his deeds than about Bateman himself.

The killings themselves are alternately comical and dispassionate. There is none of the frenzied bloodlust of "Natural Born Killers" (another good film about murderers, but one that is very different in its approach to the material). In one of the movie's best scenes, for instance, Bateman is more concerned with keeping his clothes and apartment clean, and with discussing the merits of Huey Lewis, than with the actual process of murdering a colleague.

Instead, "American Psycho" works on two levels. First, and most obviously, it is a character study of Patrick Bateman, a complex and difficult role played splendidly by Christian Bale. And second, it serves as a scathing indictment of the 1980s, of the shallow and materialistic values which were the hallmark of that decade and which still play an all-too-important role in Western society.

Patrick Bateman is a mid-level executive in his late twenties. His day seems to consist mostly of "meetings" with other mid-level executives, which essentially amount to contests of ego (we never actually see them doing anything work-related). Bragging rights are determined by the quality of their business cards and their ability to secure reservations at chic restaurants. Several of them are engaged, but this seems purely for show; they fool around on one another with only the barest of nods toward secrecy. Certainly, Bateman's relationship with his own fiancee, Evelyn (Reese Witherspoon), is cold and loveless. Indeed, Bateman and the others are so similar that it almost feels as though they have been churned out on an assembly line. Their slicked-back hairstyles, their style of dress, their mode of speech -- all are virtually identical. A running gag is made of the way Bateman is constantly mistaken for others (he doesn't even bother to correct the error, and just plays along).

But unlike his confreres, Bateman has a secret: he is a murderer, who has already killed as the movie opens and kills again, many times, over the course of the picture. "American Psycho" does not concern itself with the whys of Bateman's psychosis; it is more interested in his mentality now that he has succumbed to his murderous impulses. Bateman, we learn, thinks of himself as nothing but an empty, hollow shell, as conveyed effectively by a number of visuals. Early on, Bateman removes a transparent moisturizing face mask to reveal the same face underneath: his flesh hides no further depths. Later, Bateman gazes into a polished surface, but there is only the barest of reflections. "There is simply nothing there," he says of himself. Indeed, Bateman does not have a line of dialogue which is heartfelt or honest. When he does speak, it is simply to maintain appearances, and it is as though he is regurgitating words heard or read elsewhere; his favorite subject is popular music, but his opinions feel lifted out of the latest "Rolling Stone".

Bateman is entirely self-absorbed, seeking to mold the world to his own preferences without fully committing himself to that world. He instructs his secretary, Jean (Chloe Sevigny), how to dress, and treats himself with a litany of body-care products. Indeed, the murders he commits can be seen as the ultimate extension of this thirst for control. In one telling scene, Bateman engages in a three-way sex scene with two prostitutes, but spends the whole time watching his own performance in the mirror; rather than arousing, the proceedings are perfunctory and emotionless (making it all the more strange that this was the scene ordered trimmed from the US release by the MPAA; the Canadian version, fortunately, is unabridged).

"American Psycho" grows increasingly bizarre as the story unfolds. The reality of the film seems to be influenced by Bateman's own grip on sanity, and as his psychosis grows, the movie becomes more and more surreal. Unusually, for a picture with such disturbing subject matter, this lends an air of comedy to the whole thing. Some viewers may find this juxtaposition uncomfortable, but director Mary Harron reaches the right balance, and the humor only serves to further augment Bateman's dementia.

Apart from Bale's standout performance, none of the other actors are memorable, mired as they are in vacuous and superficial parts. Willem Dafoe occupies a particularly odd role, as a detective investigating one of Bateman's killings. It seems fairly clear that he knows Bateman is the murderer, and yet this particular subplot simply peters out. Indeed, some may take issue with the way the movie as a whole just kind of stops, rather than reaching some kind of definitive conclusion. But I find it hard to take issue with this technique; the movie is, above all else, a character sketch, and once it has nothing new to say about Patrick Bateman, it sensibly ends. What kind of ending could "American Psycho" really have had, without it seeming superfluous?

"American Psycho" is an excellent character piece, marred only by a lack of supporting material. The look it provides into the mind of a serial killer is both chilling and sobering -- for, despite Patrick Bateman's obvious and self-confessed insanity, how far removed is he really from the rest of us?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to return some videos.

Copyright © 2000 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/AmericanPsycho.html

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