American Psycho

Una crítica a la superficialidad del estilo de vida y a los valores deformados de los hombres de negocios de Wall Street, cortada en un entretenido slasher thriller con tintes de comedia negra cínica. La interpretación de Bale como sociópata encaja a la perfección, la película se ve bien y está montada con brío, pero resulta superficial y fría como el sujeto de la crítica. Por ejemplo, las escenas de sexo son sorprendentemente francas, pero no son tan personales y definitorias del personaje como en Shame. Más bien, lo que quieren es sorprender y escandalizar en el mainstream de las estrellas. (30.06.2021)

Mi primera "experiencia" con Christian Bale: loca, horrible, aterradora, chocante, repugnante, retorcida, escalofriante, pero a la vez fascinante. Nunca antes me había parecido tan genial como en esta adaptación de la famosa novela de Easton Elise. (14.04.2007)

A probe into the mind of a member of a certain animal species from Wall Street who revels in expensive formal suits and designer goods, slaps on all sorts of menthol, moisturizing and peeling masks, regularly visits tanning salons, blathers about nothing in his circle of friends passing it off as serious deep musings. His measure of success is, among other things, the appearance of his business card, which he likes to compare with his equally afflicted friends, and to be free and cool, he goes to parties to snort coke. In fact, he is so bored with his emotional emptiness that he entertains himself in a quite "original" way, he kills. Those empty-minded suits sometimes make you so sick that the murders aren't even that disgusting in comparison. And to be honest, the murders are the least interesting thing about the whole movie. (14.07.2003)

An intentionally controversial thriller. Do I mind? Not at all. Bale is fantastically convincing in the role of the psychotic financier Bat(e)man and so is the portrayal of that high society world. Of course, I’ve no idea how realistic it is, but I know that I don’t have even the slightest desire to live it first hand. (23.12.2009)

American Psycho is one of those films that can be rated from one to five stars. From a technical standpoint, it's a decently crafted piece with good cinematography, editing, and especially strong acting performances, where most of the cast gives it their all, and it's almost a pity that the same level of performance isn't seen in a stronger film. Even in small roles, quality actors like Chloë Sevigny as the secretary shine. However, the problem lies with the content, which, while superficially flashy, is internally empty and decadent - scenes from the high society milieu, nightclubs filled with glamorous beauties and yuppies in elegant squares are typical. In short, it's a kitschy affair that, while somewhat faithfully capturing Bret Easton Ellis' literary source material, is quite indigestible for me. Overall impression: 40%. (16.06.2006)

// - I can’t believe that Bryce prefers Van Patten’s card to mine. // - But wait. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Raised lettering, pale nimbus. White. - Impressive. Very nice. Hmm, let’s see Paul Allen’s card. // Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh, my God. It even has a watermark. // (25.05.2011)

A critique of the rich that is incredibly dull and uninteresting. A film that should never have been made. Or should have been directed by Oliver Stone. (06.03.2005)

From start to finish, I was reminded of the Czech film The Cremator. American Psycho draws the same analogy between the state of mind of the main character and the society he lives in. In this case, it is a far-fetched caricature of Wall Street royalty chattering eternally and senselessly with excruciating relentlessness, contrasted with a man who sets himself apart from the snobbish herd by becoming a murderous psychopath. But is anyone curious about his hobby? The great Christian Bale and a cunning script that is only seemingly about nothing, just like all the blather at tables in fancy restaurants. (08.09.2020)

After finishing the book adaptation by Bret Easton Ellis, I finally decided to watch the film adaptation, which I appropriately appreciated thanks to my knowledge from the book. After reading the book, I enjoyed the film even more, it is really well put together and contains many dialogues that are literally identical to those in the book. The book is written as if it were a diary, which also makes it feel so cold and portrays the character of Patrick Bateman as an absolute self-centered psychopath, which he is. In the film, I appreciate the focus mainly on the psychology of the main character, which in my opinion has been captured perfectly. The book is controversial mainly due to the detailed descriptions of murders, sexual games, cannibalism, and other various perversities. However, do not look for that in the film, that's the magic of the book, and that's why I'm glad that there are not many violent scenes in the film, because I wouldn't want to see how it would turn out if the creators tried to shock with the film and attempted to depict brutal violence. Here, this probe into the mind of a psychopath fits better and only certain hints sound better here, such as playing with a strand of hair of the victim, whom he invited to his apartment the day before, rather than it being based on brutal scenes. This is a one-man show by Christian Bale, who fits perfectly into the role of Pat Bateman and his acting performance is impressive. The book is very cleverly written, alternating between murder passages and chapters where practically nothing happens and they only deal with which tie goes well with which suit and who manages whose account, but as a whole everything fits together beautifully and you really feel like you're reading a psychopath's diary. His inner feelings, daydreams, moods, and finally even the acts described in the book, many people may consider it just an attempt to shock or they may find it just a disgusting and pathetic novel for perverts by a pervert, but it's not like that. The book reflects reality and excellently depicts the behavior of certain individuals and shows that there are such individuals among us. Ellis hit the nail on the head and I consider his work a masterpiece, and I think the same about the film adaptation. (20.05.2018)

It might even make sense, but it's hard to say. Maybe it’s profound. Who knows. I had a fantastic time, though. (26.04.2010)

I was wondering the whole time if Christian Bale's acting was merely overacting or basically a near-perfect performance. It's abundantly clear that a subject this interesting will stir up controversy at the mere mention of it and demand the attention of the wider public – just because of WHAT IT'S ABOUT. Personally, I was satisfied, I didn't even mind the "over-pointed" ending and as a result American Psycho impressed me as a worthy precursor to Dexter or Mr. Brooks. (16.07.2011)