AMERICAN PSYCHO
2000

March 23, 2002
Cinemax
USA/Canada
English

Christian Bale. Willem Dafoe. Jared Leto. Samantha Mathis. Chloe Sevigny. Reese Witherspoon.

I have a bittersweet relationship with the book on which this film is based. I’ve been reading it for three years now. I love certain passages, but then the brutality rears its head and I put it down for months at a time.

This film is nowhere near as brutal as the book. In fact, I can’t figure out what all the fuss was about when it was released. If I remember correctly only Lion’s Gate would come forward to distribute it.

Bale as the 80s voice and demeanor down and whatever trainer he used to get in shape for this should get a raise, immediately. The story is about a finance guy in his 20s with terrible taste in culture, but fantastic taste in clothing, who also happens to be a murderer. He finds new and interesting ways to kill his victims, who are usually women. A nail gun, a chain saw, pliers, wire hangers, a shiny axe.

We don’t see these murders, only the after-effects, so the film is not a stomach-churning as it might have been had they filmed the portions of the book that I can’t seem to get out of my head. It’s Bale’s movie and he does a good job. It is hard to believe that he’s the same kid from EMPIRE OF THE SUN.

5.6 Critical Consensus