So, a friend of mine was surprised to hear that I had never seen the movie, American Psycho.''Omg, you have to see it; it's a cult classic!'' he said. For those who are unaware, it's a film about a Wallstreet investment banker named Patrick Bateman, who is a serial killer at night. The movie takes place in the 80's, and is based on a book with the same name. So, I decided to watch it over the weekend.
At first, I found the film to be cold, creepy...then, violent and sad. Yet, it flowed like a parody. I got to thinking...is it meant to be a dark comedy?
Christian Bale's performance is quite brilliant, in the role of Bateman. But, I found myself wanting to feel sorry for the villain...as everyone tends to have a backstory, and reading between the lines, it sounds like his father may have been the reason for his psychotic thoughts. His father owned the company in which Bateman worked, and his obsessive, compulsive behaviors, almost anal and perfectionist, probably were stemming from childhood. (I wonder if the book fleshes out this aspect of the character.)
Okay, as the film plods on, Bateman's antics start to become ridiculous. His thoughts, actions and conversations are not at all believable. So, I look up a few recent reviews from critics, and basically...Bateman imagined all of the killings. What? He didn't kill anyone, nor did any of the violence depicted in the film, really happen. I suppose that's a relief, but it didn't exactly spell it out for the viewer. I had to watch the ending a second time to ultimately catch it.
But, the killings are actually carried out in the book, supposedly.
Have you seen this? What was your take on it? Is it appropriate to bring comedy, even if it's dark, into topics like sexual assault, murder, and psychopathy? In reading a few feminist reviews of the movie, they believe it was a great depiction of ''toxic masculinity,'' misogyny, and what corporate culture was like before #metoo.
Interesting.
I'm torn, because on the one hand, it's art. Do you believe that ''anything goes'' when it comes to art and fictional writing? I don't think that the film did a thorough enough job of explaining why Bateman is a psychopath with anti-social disorder, and that would have been helpful. I think that was my main problem with it. That, and the scene where he's running down his apartment hall, naked...holding a chainsaw, chasing a prostitute that he had hired. And no one in the building woke up, so that's when I was like...hmm, is this really happening? lol
But, in the end, we are still left with the gross, violent images that were part of Bateman's everyday thought process. Perhaps, that is what the director's desire was with this film - to make viewers feel uncomfortable to laugh at its absurdity, because in such a violent world as the one we live in - someone is actually thinking those things. Even carrying them out. And that's not funny at all.
At first, I found the film to be cold, creepy...then, violent and sad. Yet, it flowed like a parody. I got to thinking...is it meant to be a dark comedy?
Christian Bale's performance is quite brilliant, in the role of Bateman. But, I found myself wanting to feel sorry for the villain...as everyone tends to have a backstory, and reading between the lines, it sounds like his father may have been the reason for his psychotic thoughts. His father owned the company in which Bateman worked, and his obsessive, compulsive behaviors, almost anal and perfectionist, probably were stemming from childhood. (I wonder if the book fleshes out this aspect of the character.)
Okay, as the film plods on, Bateman's antics start to become ridiculous. His thoughts, actions and conversations are not at all believable. So, I look up a few recent reviews from critics, and basically...Bateman imagined all of the killings. What? He didn't kill anyone, nor did any of the violence depicted in the film, really happen. I suppose that's a relief, but it didn't exactly spell it out for the viewer. I had to watch the ending a second time to ultimately catch it.
But, the killings are actually carried out in the book, supposedly.
Have you seen this? What was your take on it? Is it appropriate to bring comedy, even if it's dark, into topics like sexual assault, murder, and psychopathy? In reading a few feminist reviews of the movie, they believe it was a great depiction of ''toxic masculinity,'' misogyny, and what corporate culture was like before #metoo.
Interesting.
I'm torn, because on the one hand, it's art. Do you believe that ''anything goes'' when it comes to art and fictional writing? I don't think that the film did a thorough enough job of explaining why Bateman is a psychopath with anti-social disorder, and that would have been helpful. I think that was my main problem with it. That, and the scene where he's running down his apartment hall, naked...holding a chainsaw, chasing a prostitute that he had hired. And no one in the building woke up, so that's when I was like...hmm, is this really happening? lol
But, in the end, we are still left with the gross, violent images that were part of Bateman's everyday thought process. Perhaps, that is what the director's desire was with this film - to make viewers feel uncomfortable to laugh at its absurdity, because in such a violent world as the one we live in - someone is actually thinking those things. Even carrying them out. And that's not funny at all.