Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, American Psycho, is the kind of book one does not want to finish. Parts are so pornographic and so gruesome (usually in the same paragraph), that the book needs to be put down at times so the reader can reassess reality and why they are even reading the book in the first place. Ellis’s world is a twisted one, and though there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s not for everyone.
The book vs. movie debate has always been an interesting one; most books should never be turned into movies. (See, but don’t see: Lolita, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Great Gatsby, James and the Giant Peach, Watchmen, etc.) But the film adaptation of American Psycho shines. The cast is perfect; Bale is Patrick Bateman.
In many ways, the film is the novel Ellis tried to write. It takes the themes and elements that Ellis struggles with and combines them into a focused and concise statement. It adds a sense of realism to the story that Ellis never could. In the book, the disturbing parts are simply too unbelievable; they come off as gratuitous, unreal.
The movie never goes too far. It leaves the scarier, psychological aspects of Bateman’s character to the viewer’s imagination. Though there is a certain amount of gore and over-the-top sex sequences, these are purposefully shot and push the plot forward, developing Bateman as a character and depicting the pitfalls of the 80′s yuppie generation.
Ellis, though a solid writer, does not seem to be in complete control of his craft; he’s like a juggler trying to juggle too many balls. But the best dialogue and scenes in the film are straight from his pages and he captures the monotony and vapidity of Bateman’s life and times like no other writer. Without his book, there could never have been such a killer movie in the first place.
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July 22, 2009 at 11:37 am
mcarteratthemovies
One of the keys to the success of “American Psycho,” I think, is Christian Bale. He took on the role of Patrick Bateman long before he started getting bigger parts that inflated his ego (re: his performance in “Terminator Salvation”), and he did a fine job with it. He sort of dove into the part with that, well, Christian Bale intensity and made him a nightmarish but very real figure.
M. Carter at the Movies
http://mcarteratthemovies.wordpress.com/
July 31, 2009 at 2:52 pm
onlives
Couldn’t agree with you more. The extras on the DVD have interviews with Bale where he is still in character, and I know this can be common practice for actors, but there is something frightening about the context, about it seeming real.
July 27, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Francie
‘The Great Gatsby’ – the movie … ?? Oh ewwwww [wretch]. So bad. BUT – there is one scene worth watching.
Nick and Gatsby are standing near the car outside of the Buchanan’s house. They’re waiting for Tom and the girls to come out and they’re going to head into town — Daisy comes to the balcony and says some vapid, ridiculous thing and then Nick comments on her voice … there’s something about that voice – it’s full of … it’s full of
and Redford delivers this line just perfectly – her voice is full of money.
The only good scene.
Actually, the only good line.
July 31, 2009 at 2:47 pm
onlives
I’m glad you agree. Redford is a total babe in it, but I don’t like thinking of him when I read the book. That’s my main problem with books turned into movies: they take the book and make it too concrete, do all the imagining for us, and that can be flawed sometimes.