Sunday, February 07, 2010

American Psycho-amazing is the word!

I don't like Christian Bale. I have never found him fascinating as an actor. And I maintained that opinion even after watching The Dark Knight, where he was over shadowed by the very amazing and sadly, late Heath Ledger. But I chewed up and spat my opinion in the dustbin when I recently watched American Psycho.

The movie is based on a novel of the same name written by Bret Easton Ellis. I've always believed in the saying "Don't judge a book by its movie.", but in this case I'm absolutely convinced that the book will be as mind blowing as the movie, maybe better.

The movie starts out with the portrayal of the lives of the upper-class in New York. And a member of this class, is Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker at Pierce and Pierce by day, and a murderer by night. 26-year old Patrick Bateman is portrayed as an intelligent, stylish and socially aware person. He works out, gets a tan at a tanning salon and argues with his friends over topics like what the society needs. He is engaged to Evelyn, a person he has absolutely no interest in. In fact, at the very beginning, Patrick himself confesses that he possesses no deep feelings for anyone. Throughout the movie, Patrick engages in casual sex with random women.

His first murder victims, a homeless man and his dog, reveal that Patrick regards poverty with utmost disgust. As the movie progresses, Patrick starts to lose his sanity. He gets jealous of his colleagues if their business cards are better than his and he starts talking about serial killers in everyday conversations. Eventually, Patrick goes on a killing spree. He murders and tortures his victims, mostly women. In fact, Patrick's contempt for women is apparent throughout the movie. Patrick totally loses his sanity one night when he imagines the ATM machine ordering him to feed it a stray cat. That night, he kills everyone he sees and he calls up his lawyer to confess all of his crimes. However, the next day when Patrick confronts his lawyer, he fails to recognise Patrick and mistakes him for someone else. This mistaken identity is a recurring theme in the movie. After the confrontation with his lawyer, Patrick begins to question his own sanity and realizes his confession was a waste. The movie is open to interpretation: whether the murders actually did take place or whether they were just fantasies, it's up to you(I think they were fantasies).
The movie ends with a sign behind Bateman that reads: This is not an exit. Very symbolic.

Christian Bale was just amazing in the movie. Even for a moment, I could not stop admiring the way he pulled off Patrick Bateman. I've been converted into a fan after watching this movie.

Another thing worth mention- this movie gives a lot of importance to music. Bateman chooses songs for murders. Spooky.

All in all, a good watch. You wouldn't want to miss it!

6 comments:

Nevermind said...

Is it that good? I loved the book but I still haven't watched the movie because my friend gave it a very negative review.
Incidentally, the 'This is not an exit' sign is most likely a reference to 'The treachery of Images' by Rene Magritte.
Also, the book is quite brilliant, in case you were wondering.

Gaya said...

Hey I probably liked the movie because I saw it before I read the book.
The "Ths is not an exit" sign was very symbolic of his psyche. I don't know if you should watch it though..considering you've read te book which was amazing and all!

Nevermind said...

I just finished watching the movie, and it was pretty good. It isn't identical to the book, and doesn't pretend to be the same thing- which is good!

Gaya said...

Oh good :)
Atleast it ain't like India's "most" loved author's book One night @ the call center and it's horrible movie version Hello.

Nevermind said...

Hello is quite a trippy movie! I must have seen it like five times by now!
Have you ever seen a wild boar? You'd notice that the creatures are so ugly that they almost seem beautiful. Hello is sort of like that. The miserable acting made an already miserable script so bad that it crossed a threshold we didn't know existed.
I watch it every time I'm bored or unhappy with life.

Gaya said...

Oh I totally get that....I watch Vijay movies and Kanthasamy when I get depressed with life...after watching the above mentioned, I always feel much better about myself :)