In 'American Psycho', Christian Bale portrays Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, image-obsessed Wall Street professional by day and a ruthless serial killer by night. The film explores themes of consumerism, superficiality, and human disconnect.
Patrick Bateman is a Wall Street banker, a serial killer, and a connoisseur of 1980s pop music. By the end you cannot tell which of those three identities are real. Mary Harron treats the question as a feature, not a bug.
A pivotal entry in this collection — American Psycho represents exactly what makes this theme essential viewing.
Mary Harron films Patrick Bateman's monologues on Huey Lewis and Phil Collins. The film is the genre as late-capitalist satire; the violence is the satire's literal mode.
The protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is a wealthy businessman who is also a serial killer.
Patrick Bateman's monologues on Huey Lewis and Phil Collins are a perfect parody of late-capitalist taste. His violence is just the logical conclusion of caring this much about a business card.
