American Psycho

I've watched American Psycho seven or eight times and, like most great movies, there's a new layer and theme revealed with each viewing. All my favorite movies are ones I didn't get right away, though many were ones I saw when I was too young to get them. I saw Fight Club at 19, American Psycho at 20, Apocalypse Now at 18, Pulp Fiction at 14, and in retrospect I never feel like I had a good handle on any of them after the first crack. Not an expert now either, but I'm much more comfortable discussing the themes and messages in these films, and saying with some confidence that Pulp Fiction is a vastly overrated nonsensical mishmash. Each time I see that movie I like it less. It has some great scenes, great style, cool dialogue, but there doesn't seem to be any direction or point to it all. If that is the point, they why bother. I dunno, re-educate me I guess.

Anyway, I've seen American Psycho a few times, then bought it, watched it a few more times and at this point, I'm finally comfortable saying that I don't think it matters if he actually committed all those murders or if it was all in his head. The point of the movie, commentating on the materialistic 1980's, is that nobody notices anything and are completely wrapped up in themselves and their own accomplishments. Conformity and acceptance are the only goals and once reached, they are hollow, superficial and unsatisfying. The fact that he seemingly gets away with the murders shows how little people take note of their surroundings and the extent to which society worries about itself. If they were only fantasies, they illustrate the extent to which Bateman feels trapped, repressed and desires to lash out and be noticed. Either way, the point is the same. This is illustrated three ways, using quotes from IMDB.com.

The first is with Patrick's internal identity struggle with the conformist lifestyle he leads. That people keep mistaking Patrick Bateman for other people is the obvious plot tool, but there's a variety of ways the film makes the point that in this world, people intentionally act, and are thus treated, like clones. Characters are constantly unsure of who is whom. In the business card scene not only is each card basically the same, but they all have the same title, "Vice President." This is what Bateman is fighting within himself, his desire to be included ("You hate the job anyways, I don't see why you don't just quit" "Because I want to FIT IN") and his feelings of entrapment within that conformity. He wants to be accepted but clearly recognizes the price of such a shallow, superficial facade. He talks about how important it is to take care of oneself and address the world's problems (his long soliloquy at Espace about ending apartheid, civil rights, social responsibility) yet film ends with a monologue where he says he "does not hope for a better world for anyone." He knows what to say, everyone in his circle of "friends" knows how to react and chime in but Bateman admits to not caring about any of this, and goes out of his way to act contrary to his politically correct speeches by, well, killing a LOT of people. That's the sliver of humanity within the character, he knows he's trapped in this contradiction but can't find a way out. Hence the last shot of the movie, the sign saying "This is not an exit," where his realization does not result in any catharsis or new insight about his world or how he can improve his life as a result.

The most obvious way the film shows his inability to escape his shallow lifestyle cycle is in how he constantly tries to get caught. He ridiculous lies to Det. Kimble about his whereabouts ("I was probably returning some videotapes [that night]") and obvious evasiveness ("Listen, you'll have to excuse me. I have a lunch meeting with Cliff Huxtable at the Four Seasons in 20 minutes") are some of the movie's funniest scenes. They show Bateman almost crying out for help, hoping to get caught. An interesting scene after he kills Paul Allen illustrates the whole point of the movie. Bateman, dragging Paul Allen's body slowly out of his apartment through the lobby and into his car, runs into co-worker Luis Carruthers just as he's shoving the body into the trunk. He looks absurdly suspicious, dragging this huge BLACK body-size bag through the lobby, which is of course empty, making no attempt to be conspicuous at all. Oddly, the camera following him through the lobby shows a trail of blood behind the bag, then when he's outside moving towards the car, the blood trail is gone. My sense is that it's an intentional way of throwing the viewer, maintaining that existential ambiguity. Carruthers, happening upon Bateman moving a big black bag into the truck of his car, with a trail of blood that is, or is not, leading up to the car, looks taken back and hesitant before delivering perhaps the best line in the film: "Where did you get that overnight bag?"

Lastly, the film (and by greater extension the book, which I keep intending to read) is so intentionally gratuitous and profane in its violence, language, and sexuality in order to magnify Bateman's internal struggle. Without the shock value of these scenes, you don't get the contrast from his bland, clonelike public personality and the violent, psychotic desires of his "actual" or fantasy self. To show just how frustrated and trapped Bateman feels, the film shows scenes of gruesome violence (real or fantasy) as a way of showing the incredible breadth of Bateman's personality split. This contrasts the group scenes where all the suits, haircuts, job titles, business cards etc are all the same and nothing jumps out at the viewer to make Bateman stand out. Marcus Halbertram is of course the best example of this, as he is essentially an exact duplicate of Bateman (glasses, suits, barber, though Bateman's haircut is slightly better). It's ironic to me that which gave the movie its notoriety, and thus its meaning, is also what many people focused on at the expense of the whole point of the film.

So the points overlap to some degree, the conformity, the lost identity, the cries for help and individuality, all to illustrate the central theme of the film: Bateman is lost in a sea of similarity caused by the shallow materialism, self-centeredness, greed, and culture of uncaring that was the 1980's. Cultural traits that have, mercifully, been overcome. I love this movie, Christian Bale is incredible at showing that fake, manufactured expressions and emotions that make his character so hollow and soulless through the majority of the film. Because of this, his breakdown and "confession" at the end are so much stronger and authentic, or as close as possible, thus creating another contradiction within the character.

That's what I think anyways. What I really enjoyed about writing this was typing "Batman" instead of "Bateman" almost half the time. That's where my mind's really at.