Story:
Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a young, wealthy, investment banking executive who enjoys his money, exercising, drinking with his friends, purchasing prostitutes, and on the side he enjoys murdering people. Bateman is a perfectionist, he keeps his body in perfect condition by maintaining a daily workout regimen, and using distinct facial and bodily products to achieve the best looking appearance that he can. He makes sure that he never has a hair out of place, and he strives to be the best at everything, even down to having the nicest business card among his friends. Most importantly, he is a total a-hole. He and his friends treat women like items to be used and disposed of, they address anyone that isn't a client like their subordinate, and to top it all off Patrick enjoys brutally chopping people to death.
Some anti-heroes are fun to root for, like Walter White in Breaking Bad, or Tony Soprano in The Sopranos. But Patrick Bateman is only an anti-hero in title, because there is nothing heroic about him. Although he has a good taste in music, he is straight up mentally imbalanced, in the most evil way. The way he thoughtlessly kills people is one thing, but the most hatable aspect of his character is the way he treats people, the fact that he's a murderer is an afterthought compared to this. He has a fiancee that he consistently cheats on. He purchases prostitutes and treats them like trash (only before eventually killing them). And he generally has a a lot of hate building up in his mind for the people he's interacting with. That's actually one of the coolest parts of this movie, is being inside Patrick's head while he's analyzing a situation and trying to make up his mind of how to kill someone. His conniving personality is entrancing in the way he weaves lies that everyone around him believes because on paper, he is a successful man that seems trustworthy.
Characters:
Christian Bale deserves an Oscar for this performance. The crazy that he brings out in a terrifying, but sometimes humorous way was addictive to watch. It's always impressive when an actor can do an accent for an entire film. Considering Bale is British, and was able to do not just a convincing American accent, but also a Wall Street, frat boy, douchebag kind of accent was fun to see.Patrick is so evil, so crazy, but the way Bale became this character to maintain his humanity in public was very impressive. And Bale basically carries the entire movie, Josh Lucas, Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto and Willem DeFoe all have minor roles but they are all just meant to play off Bale.
Cinematography:
Director Mary Harron does a great job of weaving this creepy story together. The film is shot in a way that always has you on the edge of your seat, but doesn't rely on jump scares and distorted shots to scare you. Casting Christian Bale was the condition that sets this movie apart, I don't know that it would have worked without him. Overall this film was fun and scary, a great character piece that ws compelling from start to finish.
OVERALL GRADE: 7.3/10
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