American Psycho Critique - Seamus Kirby
Christian Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a young, successful Wall Street businessman, who turns into a psychopathic murderer by night in Mary Harron’s American Psycho. American Psycho is like a modern day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, while at the same time being a parody of the materialistic New York upper class.
The movie opens with a red liquid on a white background, which is initially assumed to be blood, but as the camera pans out, it becomes a red sauce on a dish which is then brought out to Patrick Bateman and his fellow co workers. The movie frequently returns to this pristine, glossy style in many of its scenes, from when Patrick describes his daily morning routine, to when he murders co worker Paul Allen.
The contrast of red blood on a white background is also seen in many scenes after the intro, which ties in heavily with Patrick Bateman’s obsession with cleanliness, and material wealth. His apartment (seen above) is mostly white, and is always kept in pristine condition. Christian Bale almost becomes the character, switching between the high class business man and the psychopathic serial killer almost mid sentence at times. He goes from charming while talking to someone, then snapping at them mid sentence as they place a dirty spoon on a table, or touch his watch.
The movie frequently uses voiceovers as a method of showing the audience Patrick’s dialogue at various points in the movie. The voiceovers serve to add to the dialogue of the movie, while simultaneously giving the audience insight into the state of Patrick’s mind. One scene that is particularly interesting is a scene where Patrick and his fellow Wall street businessmen compare business cards. Patrick becomes upset when he discovers that people prefer other business cards to his, and becomes visibly shaken upon seeing the “off white coloring” and “watermark” of Paul Allen’s card. Something so minor that would not be noticed by most people causes Bale’s character to become so angry that he murders a homeless man and his dog.
The film serves as social commentary on the materialism of the upper class. The characters seem as if they have no real problems in life, so they put their effort towards expensive designer clothes, business cards, and reservations at fancy restaurants. The Wall street businessmen, while they constantly spend time with each other, never seem as if they are actually friends, as they have affairs with each other’s wives and fiancées, and talk behind each other’s backs.
“American Psycho” is both a parody of material obsession, with characters comparing brand name designer suits, apartments, and business cards, while telling the story of sociopathic Wall Street executive Patrick Bateman. Watching Bateman cheerfully talk about his love for “Hip to be square” by Huey Lewis and the News while simultaneously murdering his co worker with an axe seems to sum up the tone of the film in a single scene.
Bibliography:
1. "Image of Patrick Bateman's Apartment (Pat's Apartment) - Screened." Image of Patrick Bateman's Apartment (Pat's Apartment) - Screened. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
2nd Critique- Teige Dougherty
The film American Psycho was disappointing. In my mind, film as a whole falls under two categories. One of which is how it takes in a person’s ideas and changes them. This is the way that most films become famous, in that they are beautiful works of art. In this category American Psycho was one of the most amazing films I have ever seen. Every part of it was acted perfectly and thought out precisely. All the actors were impressive, and lead the roles to a scary accuracy. Christian Bale was simply terrifying. He pushed boundaries for the role of how a psycho should act as to give off an eerie vibe. Just his smile throughout the entire movie must have taken months to perfect. It had that subtle tone of falsity that made his character so much more believable. His whole character was about hiding his true murderous self, and living this fake life. The smile fit perfectly.
The reason this movie was disappoint was in the other big category that every good movie must fill, and that’s storyline. I don’t believe there was a storyline in this movie. It seem to meander around without purpose or point. There wasn’t really a protagonist or antagonist. It was just the main character seemingly losing his mind. There is the issue of evading the police, but this doesn’t really seem to be that much of an issue seeing as the only police investigation was into one man out of the 30 or more people he had murdered. This is really contradictory to what should be expected of a film about a man murdering people. Often in this genre of movies there is a police officer who is hot on their trail, in order to make this great tension. It makes a storyline really interesting and keeps the person on the edge of their seat while watching the movie. This did not grab my attention during the movie.
Christian Bale is terrifying. Seriously, this man is freaky on so many levels. This one scene, is directly after Christian Bale hires a prostitute and has just chased her down a hallway, completely naked and wielding a chainsaw. He is absolutely covered in blood. The prostitute then runs down a flight of stairs and Christian Bale just stands there aiming with a chainsaw. This scene was both uncomfortable and scary, but it also was the most intense scene in any movie I have ever seen. Just as you think the prostitute is going to get away, he lets go. The chainsaw falls and impales the prostitute who was on the ground floor. While this scene obviously adds an intense layer of horror, it also adds so much to Bale’s character. It takes a really strong urge to murder someone to drop a chainsaw on them.
Where most psychological dramas succeed this movie did not. I really did not care about any of the characters. I did not feel any strong way about the plot line. That being said this movie does a lot of things really well. It will most definitely stick in my mind for a long time. It bent the way I thought of these seemly simple characters, and for that I will always think of this movie as amazing, however not meeting it’s true potential.
Christian Bale plays Patrick Bateman, a young, successful Wall Street businessman, who turns into a psychopathic murderer by night in Mary Harron’s American Psycho. American Psycho is like a modern day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, while at the same time being a parody of the materialistic New York upper class.
The movie opens with a red liquid on a white background, which is initially assumed to be blood, but as the camera pans out, it becomes a red sauce on a dish which is then brought out to Patrick Bateman and his fellow co workers. The movie frequently returns to this pristine, glossy style in many of its scenes, from when Patrick describes his daily morning routine, to when he murders co worker Paul Allen.
The contrast of red blood on a white background is also seen in many scenes after the intro, which ties in heavily with Patrick Bateman’s obsession with cleanliness, and material wealth. His apartment (seen above) is mostly white, and is always kept in pristine condition. Christian Bale almost becomes the character, switching between the high class business man and the psychopathic serial killer almost mid sentence at times. He goes from charming while talking to someone, then snapping at them mid sentence as they place a dirty spoon on a table, or touch his watch.
The movie frequently uses voiceovers as a method of showing the audience Patrick’s dialogue at various points in the movie. The voiceovers serve to add to the dialogue of the movie, while simultaneously giving the audience insight into the state of Patrick’s mind. One scene that is particularly interesting is a scene where Patrick and his fellow Wall street businessmen compare business cards. Patrick becomes upset when he discovers that people prefer other business cards to his, and becomes visibly shaken upon seeing the “off white coloring” and “watermark” of Paul Allen’s card. Something so minor that would not be noticed by most people causes Bale’s character to become so angry that he murders a homeless man and his dog.
The film serves as social commentary on the materialism of the upper class. The characters seem as if they have no real problems in life, so they put their effort towards expensive designer clothes, business cards, and reservations at fancy restaurants. The Wall street businessmen, while they constantly spend time with each other, never seem as if they are actually friends, as they have affairs with each other’s wives and fiancées, and talk behind each other’s backs.
“American Psycho” is both a parody of material obsession, with characters comparing brand name designer suits, apartments, and business cards, while telling the story of sociopathic Wall Street executive Patrick Bateman. Watching Bateman cheerfully talk about his love for “Hip to be square” by Huey Lewis and the News while simultaneously murdering his co worker with an axe seems to sum up the tone of the film in a single scene.
Bibliography:
1. "Image of Patrick Bateman's Apartment (Pat's Apartment) - Screened." Image of Patrick Bateman's Apartment (Pat's Apartment) - Screened. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
2nd Critique- Teige Dougherty
The film American Psycho was disappointing. In my mind, film as a whole falls under two categories. One of which is how it takes in a person’s ideas and changes them. This is the way that most films become famous, in that they are beautiful works of art. In this category American Psycho was one of the most amazing films I have ever seen. Every part of it was acted perfectly and thought out precisely. All the actors were impressive, and lead the roles to a scary accuracy. Christian Bale was simply terrifying. He pushed boundaries for the role of how a psycho should act as to give off an eerie vibe. Just his smile throughout the entire movie must have taken months to perfect. It had that subtle tone of falsity that made his character so much more believable. His whole character was about hiding his true murderous self, and living this fake life. The smile fit perfectly.
The reason this movie was disappoint was in the other big category that every good movie must fill, and that’s storyline. I don’t believe there was a storyline in this movie. It seem to meander around without purpose or point. There wasn’t really a protagonist or antagonist. It was just the main character seemingly losing his mind. There is the issue of evading the police, but this doesn’t really seem to be that much of an issue seeing as the only police investigation was into one man out of the 30 or more people he had murdered. This is really contradictory to what should be expected of a film about a man murdering people. Often in this genre of movies there is a police officer who is hot on their trail, in order to make this great tension. It makes a storyline really interesting and keeps the person on the edge of their seat while watching the movie. This did not grab my attention during the movie.
Christian Bale is terrifying. Seriously, this man is freaky on so many levels. This one scene, is directly after Christian Bale hires a prostitute and has just chased her down a hallway, completely naked and wielding a chainsaw. He is absolutely covered in blood. The prostitute then runs down a flight of stairs and Christian Bale just stands there aiming with a chainsaw. This scene was both uncomfortable and scary, but it also was the most intense scene in any movie I have ever seen. Just as you think the prostitute is going to get away, he lets go. The chainsaw falls and impales the prostitute who was on the ground floor. While this scene obviously adds an intense layer of horror, it also adds so much to Bale’s character. It takes a really strong urge to murder someone to drop a chainsaw on them.
Where most psychological dramas succeed this movie did not. I really did not care about any of the characters. I did not feel any strong way about the plot line. That being said this movie does a lot of things really well. It will most definitely stick in my mind for a long time. It bent the way I thought of these seemly simple characters, and for that I will always think of this movie as amazing, however not meeting it’s true potential.
American Psycho Critique - Taylor Ximines
After watching The Fighter there was something that stuck out to me about the movie; and it was the acting of Christian Bale. So for my first film critique I decided to choose a movie that he has too been an actor in. American Psycho is a crime-thriller film directed by Mary Harron and starring Christian Bale. It is based off of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. It is about a wealthy investment banker from Manhattan for no apparent reason starts to just kill people, and while doing this tries to hide his split personality from his colleagues and friends (even if he wants to kill them). And after watching this movie it has left me nowhere but wanting to see other Christian Bale movies. The many components of this film such as the characters, the acting, and the marvelous motifs worked together to help make a memorable and jaw dropping movie.
When the film opened it gave you a quick overview of the main character Patrick Bateman (Bale). It gave you a glimpse into his life. It was showing you his morning routine while he gave a voiceover of what he was doing and why. What this allowed was for the viewer to get into his thoughts and see what type of person he was. And he was one that was obnoxious and conceited. It showed you his lovely condo that he lived in looking over Manhattan and the many nice things that he possessed. All throughout the movie the settings and scenes would do this: introduce us to characters who in a way were just like Patrick Bateman. And the attitude for all of them just seemed to be arrogant. There is this part that showed this very well. It was when he was introducing some of the other main characters through a voice over. As he was describing them as being cheaters, betrayers, and money hungry people it really showed the viewer that all of the characters, serial killer or not, had some of the same attributes.
Something that really worked in this film were the many motifs. It was nothing but constant scenes of rich people dining together at five star restaurants, him playing music before he would kill a victim, or the random weird murderous outburst he would have. It showed the viewer the daily life of an investment banker. And while to me I believed for this life to be boring and predictable the fact that it kept and kept recurring in this film was what the viewer needed. One of my favorite motifs is when they would show Patrick going in his expensive limo with his chauffeur driving to go pick up “Christie”. She was a prostitute who he would pick up to help him play out his fantasies, usually with another female. Again by having this happen repeatedly in the movie allowed viewers to really get into the character’s twisted thoughts and actions. He eventually kills her in the end, which as the viewer I did not want to happen.
The final part of this movie that really made this a memorable film for me would have to be Christian Bale’s acting. Out of the few movies of him I have seen this is hands down the best performance by him. Just like when he played ‘Dicky’ in The Fighter, Bale had to play a character who had two personalities. In this movie one minute he had to be a sadistic killer and the next an intelligent charming businessman. Bale did a wonderful job of acting insane and really taking the viewer in to what the character was going through. While I did not love the story for this movie, Bale’s performance definitely helped me to like it more.
Images Sources:
Jeffers, Justin. "A Complete Guide To The Men's Fashion In 'American Psycho'"Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Palson, Jemal. "Ten 00s Film Adaptions to See before You Die." N.p., n.d. Web.
W, Deborah. "The AMERICAN PSYCHO (Book and Movie) Fanlisting." The AMERICAN PSYCHO (Book and Movie) Fanlisting. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
After watching The Fighter there was something that stuck out to me about the movie; and it was the acting of Christian Bale. So for my first film critique I decided to choose a movie that he has too been an actor in. American Psycho is a crime-thriller film directed by Mary Harron and starring Christian Bale. It is based off of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. It is about a wealthy investment banker from Manhattan for no apparent reason starts to just kill people, and while doing this tries to hide his split personality from his colleagues and friends (even if he wants to kill them). And after watching this movie it has left me nowhere but wanting to see other Christian Bale movies. The many components of this film such as the characters, the acting, and the marvelous motifs worked together to help make a memorable and jaw dropping movie.
When the film opened it gave you a quick overview of the main character Patrick Bateman (Bale). It gave you a glimpse into his life. It was showing you his morning routine while he gave a voiceover of what he was doing and why. What this allowed was for the viewer to get into his thoughts and see what type of person he was. And he was one that was obnoxious and conceited. It showed you his lovely condo that he lived in looking over Manhattan and the many nice things that he possessed. All throughout the movie the settings and scenes would do this: introduce us to characters who in a way were just like Patrick Bateman. And the attitude for all of them just seemed to be arrogant. There is this part that showed this very well. It was when he was introducing some of the other main characters through a voice over. As he was describing them as being cheaters, betrayers, and money hungry people it really showed the viewer that all of the characters, serial killer or not, had some of the same attributes.
Something that really worked in this film were the many motifs. It was nothing but constant scenes of rich people dining together at five star restaurants, him playing music before he would kill a victim, or the random weird murderous outburst he would have. It showed the viewer the daily life of an investment banker. And while to me I believed for this life to be boring and predictable the fact that it kept and kept recurring in this film was what the viewer needed. One of my favorite motifs is when they would show Patrick going in his expensive limo with his chauffeur driving to go pick up “Christie”. She was a prostitute who he would pick up to help him play out his fantasies, usually with another female. Again by having this happen repeatedly in the movie allowed viewers to really get into the character’s twisted thoughts and actions. He eventually kills her in the end, which as the viewer I did not want to happen.
The final part of this movie that really made this a memorable film for me would have to be Christian Bale’s acting. Out of the few movies of him I have seen this is hands down the best performance by him. Just like when he played ‘Dicky’ in The Fighter, Bale had to play a character who had two personalities. In this movie one minute he had to be a sadistic killer and the next an intelligent charming businessman. Bale did a wonderful job of acting insane and really taking the viewer in to what the character was going through. While I did not love the story for this movie, Bale’s performance definitely helped me to like it more.
Images Sources:
Jeffers, Justin. "A Complete Guide To The Men's Fashion In 'American Psycho'"Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Palson, Jemal. "Ten 00s Film Adaptions to See before You Die." N.p., n.d. Web.
W, Deborah. "The AMERICAN PSYCHO (Book and Movie) Fanlisting." The AMERICAN PSYCHO (Book and Movie) Fanlisting. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
American Psycho - Daniel Tuveson
American Psycho was a movie made in 2000 following the exploits of a Wall Street investment banker that by day hobnobs with wealthy bankers such as himself, and by night kills prostitutes, acquaintances, and derelicts.
Christian Bale gives a fantastic performance as the killer Patrick Bateman. Bale’s acting perfectly portrays a man who filled with hate surrounding his peers and coworkers, takes out his anger through violent murder. One scene that stands out is when he and his coworkers compare the styles and colors of each others business cards. Going with the theme of Bateman’s obsession of superficiality, Bale does a phenomenal job showing the audience his nervousness and anger towards his peers as each man pulls out a card that is deemed to be better than his. The voice over of Bateman’s thoughts and close up’s show his nervousness surrounding physical imperfection on the part of something that represents who he is to the world. (click here to see the video of the index card scene)
Throughout the film we explore deep into the mind of this psychopath as he shares with the audience the complexity of his beauty regimen and exercises, describing and analyzing in detail how he uses various lotions and chemicals to achieve physical beauty.
The first murder in the film comes when he murders a homeless man after being shamed in front of his peers when Paul Allen, a colleague, shows off his superior business card. Not content with the murder of only one random stranger, he continues and murders Paul Allen. Before he murders him, he covers his furniture in plastic and places news papers on the ground, methodically preparing to commit his murder. He then puts on a raincoat while smiling and describing to Allen the music of Huey Lewis and The News. The long monologues describing pop music of the time are a repeated theme throughout the movie.
After turning on an upbeat pop song by the aforementioned band, he swings an axe into Paul’s skull and exclaims “Try getting your reservation at Dorsia now, you fucking stupid bastard!” referring to an earlier scene where Allen bragged about his reservations at a well known restaurant that Bateman wasn’t able to get reservations at.
The remainder of the movie explores deeper into the mind of Bateman, whose emotional responses generally seem fake, as he tries to conform and fit into the social settings of the upper class. The only time we see Bateman display any real kind of emotion is when he is murdering
or mutilating someone. We see this in one scene where Bateman tries to lure back a prostitute he previously mutilated with a sickeningly faked smile and promises of more money.
Christian Bale does a truly fantastic job showing us the inner workings of the mind of an emotionless psychotic. Even though he has to fake emotion in front of his crying heartbroken fiancé, he only displays emotion as he murders two women with a chainsaw. Bale’s acting truly encapsulates a psychotic, oscillating seamlessly from a normal investment banker to a ruthless killer.
Citations:
1. Harron, Mary, dir. American Psycho. Lions Gate Films, 2000. Film.
American Psycho was a movie made in 2000 following the exploits of a Wall Street investment banker that by day hobnobs with wealthy bankers such as himself, and by night kills prostitutes, acquaintances, and derelicts.
Christian Bale gives a fantastic performance as the killer Patrick Bateman. Bale’s acting perfectly portrays a man who filled with hate surrounding his peers and coworkers, takes out his anger through violent murder. One scene that stands out is when he and his coworkers compare the styles and colors of each others business cards. Going with the theme of Bateman’s obsession of superficiality, Bale does a phenomenal job showing the audience his nervousness and anger towards his peers as each man pulls out a card that is deemed to be better than his. The voice over of Bateman’s thoughts and close up’s show his nervousness surrounding physical imperfection on the part of something that represents who he is to the world. (click here to see the video of the index card scene)
Throughout the film we explore deep into the mind of this psychopath as he shares with the audience the complexity of his beauty regimen and exercises, describing and analyzing in detail how he uses various lotions and chemicals to achieve physical beauty.
The first murder in the film comes when he murders a homeless man after being shamed in front of his peers when Paul Allen, a colleague, shows off his superior business card. Not content with the murder of only one random stranger, he continues and murders Paul Allen. Before he murders him, he covers his furniture in plastic and places news papers on the ground, methodically preparing to commit his murder. He then puts on a raincoat while smiling and describing to Allen the music of Huey Lewis and The News. The long monologues describing pop music of the time are a repeated theme throughout the movie.
After turning on an upbeat pop song by the aforementioned band, he swings an axe into Paul’s skull and exclaims “Try getting your reservation at Dorsia now, you fucking stupid bastard!” referring to an earlier scene where Allen bragged about his reservations at a well known restaurant that Bateman wasn’t able to get reservations at.
The remainder of the movie explores deeper into the mind of Bateman, whose emotional responses generally seem fake, as he tries to conform and fit into the social settings of the upper class. The only time we see Bateman display any real kind of emotion is when he is murdering
or mutilating someone. We see this in one scene where Bateman tries to lure back a prostitute he previously mutilated with a sickeningly faked smile and promises of more money.
Christian Bale does a truly fantastic job showing us the inner workings of the mind of an emotionless psychotic. Even though he has to fake emotion in front of his crying heartbroken fiancé, he only displays emotion as he murders two women with a chainsaw. Bale’s acting truly encapsulates a psychotic, oscillating seamlessly from a normal investment banker to a ruthless killer.
Citations:
1. Harron, Mary, dir. American Psycho. Lions Gate Films, 2000. Film.