Mary Harron did a remarkable job adapting Bret Easton Ellis's gory, controversial novel for the silver screen.
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It's the 1980's, the Age of Greed. At first, the film's main character, handsome Wall Street exec Patrick Bateman, seems like a poster boy for Reaganomics. However, the old adage that you can't judge a book by its cover may be true in Patrick's case, for beneath his metrosexual facade is a deranged killer who often wines, dines, and serenades his victims -- including colleagues, hookers, and models -- before killing them. On the other hand, it's possible that Patrick's deadly deeds are merely psychotic delusions, and he hasn't hurt a flea.
The review of this Movie prepared by Elana Starr
This is based on a book, and sadly that is where it should have been kept, due to the needless illustration of explicit murders during sexual inercourse. The main character is very complicated, and lives a double life, one as a top business executive and another as a sick murderer who murders and intimidates endless prostitutes. This is disturbing to say the least, and lacks quality, with the explicit elements being expected to hold the storyline together, which works well in literary format, though not on the big screen.
The review of this Movie prepared by james kennaby
Dull as anything could possibly be. Eighties materialism, psycho fascination and American sexual frustration of all kinds have been dealt with many times before this and in many, MANY better ways. Mary Harron's latest does, however, have Christian Bale's dead-on performance as Bret Easton Ellis' titular hero/villain and some nifty production design, not to mention a terrifyingly good performance by Samantha Mathis as a dope fiend who provides Bale with a regular friend—it's probably her best performance ever. The film caused much controversy involving activists and censors for its graphic violence and glorification of serial killers, but in the end it was all much ado about nothing: there isn't enough resembling humanity to be offensive, and it's all undone by an ending that renders the entire film completely invalid.
The review of this Movie prepared by Bil Antoniou
That writer-director Mary Harron was able to adapt and shoot Bret Easton Ellis's all-but-unfilmable novel about a serial killer in the ultra-materialistic Reagan era is an achievement in itself. The results are slick, stylish, definitely upsetting, and not altogether successful. It's difficult to resolve such satirical elements as the hilarious business card competition and the hero's shrill fiancee (terrific Reese Witherspoon) -- the title sequence is very witty, too -- with the cold, orgiastic sex and ghastly slayings. But these are contradictions inherent in the book, I think. As the fashion conscious, status-climbing Wall Street investor who is also a monstrous killer, Bale, best known for holding the center of Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" so many years before, is buff, cool, and compelling. A curiously repellant and interesting piece of work.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
