American Psycho (2000) is a dark-humor horror film about a delusional psychopath and serial killer. The movie was adapted from the novel of the same name by author Bret Easton Ellis. Two decades later, American Psycho has been classified as a "cult movie" — a revered film that stands the test of time.
From the moment the novel was published, it attracted fierce competition among film studios, directors, and actors eager to adapt it into a movie. Director Oliver Stone and actor Leonardo DiCaprio were strong contenders for the project, especially after the massive success of Titanic. However, Leonardo decided to withdraw, which led to Oliver Stone stepping down as director. Johnny Depp also expressed keen interest in the insane and perverse character but ultimately did not get the role.
In the end, the project was finalized with Mary Harron, a relatively unknown Canadian female filmmaker, as both co-writer and director. The lead role went to Christian Bale, supported by a star-studded cast in minor roles, including Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, and Chloë Sevigny.
A Satire on Toxic Masculinity
American Psycho premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2000 and was widely released in April of the same year. Despite being an independently produced, low-budget film, it was a commercial success and resonated with critics and the media.
Particularly notable was Christian Bale's performance and Mary Harron's directorial style, which, through her feminine perspective, transformed the film into a profound work of social critique and ambiguity, especially in the ending. With a more masculine director like Oliver Stone, American Psycho might have turned into a horror crime film about a serial killer.
However, under Mary Harron's direction, it became a film about toxic masculinity, where men who seem to have everything are actually narcissistic, petty, and constantly envious of others' success. These are men who are materially wealthy but mentally diseased, obsessed with external vanity, and afraid of being judged by others.
From the film's opening scenes, Harron portrays the life of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) — a young, successful, and wealthy businessman. Coming from a prestigious Wall Street family, his life is filled with glamour and superficiality: designer tailored suits, an upscale Manhattan apartment, and a disciplined lifestyle that includes exercise and skincare routines.
Bateman often appears in high-end restaurants with his fiancée Evelyn (Reese Witherspoon) and his group of wealthy, shallow male associates — men he actually despises and envies. To assert his intellectual superiority or taste, he frequently discusses his music collection by repeating criticisms he has read in the media.
Patrick Bateman leads a seemingly perfect life, but deep down, he is emotionally drained, isolated, and unable to find satisfaction in what he has. Toxic masculinity is most vividly portrayed in the scene where the businessmen each present their personal business cards. They compete over the quality of the card material, the thickness of the paper, and the sophistication of embossing, engraving, and font styles, showcasing their obsession with status and superficial details.
All that vanity and luxury—do they merely reflect what these men want to show off, or are they also meant to mask their insecurities about their own masculinity?
When his ego is deeply wounded and jealousy completely takes over, Bateman becomes unhinged, turning into a madman who begins a spree of murders to vent his rage and satisfy his desire to feel unbound by society's constraints. His acts of violence grow increasingly brutal and indiscriminate, targeting anyone from a homeless man on the street, and prostitutes, to Paul Allen (Jared Leto), the person he despises most for daring to outshine him in the business card comparison.
Yet, as the story progresses, Bateman’s gruesome killings appear to be nothing more than figments of his imagination. The insane consumer lifestyle and relentless competition with others have driven him into bouts of fury and delusional states.
A Psychopath Disconnected from Reality
There are numerous details in the film that suggest Bateman is merely imagining everything rather than actually committing these acts. Director Mary Harron brings these horrifying murders to life with graphic realism, even though they might only exist in Bateman’s mind.
Bateman uses a handgun to kill with an inexplicable level of skill. He blows up a car without anyone noticing. He relentlessly chases down a prostitute with a chainsaw, the noise and her screams echoing through the apartment complex, yet no one seems to hear. He drags Paul Allen's body in a bag, leaving a trail of blood on the floor, but the building's security guard is indifferent, and the bloodstains later vanish...
The pinnacle of this delusion occurs when Bateman confesses to his lawyer about killing Paul Allen, but the lawyer repeatedly dismisses it as a joke, saying, "I had dinner with him twice in London..." Could it all be Bateman's imagination? Has he become a schizophrenic, trapped in his own toxic masculinity?
At this point, it's clear that American Psycho isn't truly a horror film about a serial killer. It's a satire of the 'yuppie' culture that emerged in the early 1980s during the American economic boom. Yuppie culture describes young, successful, ambitious individuals who are materialistic and prone to flaunting their wealth. American Psycho delves into this culture by exploring the connection between identity and the desire to stand out in a superficial society that values appearances above all else.
And the perfect embodiment of this culture is none other than Patrick Bateman, a distorted figure inflated by his own ego. Having lived too long in this toxic environment, he has become delusional, suffering from various psychological disorders, including narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and, of course, psychopathy. As his madness reaches its peak, he can no longer distinguish between reality and fantasy. And no one cares about the chaos dancing inside his mind.
A Profound Character Study
Patrick Bateman in American Psycho is one of the most remarkable characters in American cinema. This character is often analyzed by critics and scholars in character studies focused on the mental disorders of individuals, especially within the context of a society obsessed with superficial values.
Mary Harron's crime, horror, and serial killer film is not just a thrilling cinematic experience; it also offers a sardonic and somewhat bitter perspective on a man who chases after the shallow and ignorant values of a money-driven society.
American Psycho draws some inspiration from characters with similar mental disorders as seen in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Though it may not reach the same iconic status as these masterpieces, it remains one of the most compelling films to portray a deep and multifaceted portrait of a lonely individual in a harshly competitive, hollow, and vapid world.
Christian Bale's outstanding performance in this film marked a turning point in his career, allowing him to continue taking on physically demanding and psychologically complex roles.
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