American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis adaptation is one of the year's best.

Too bad he's psychotic, eh?

As far as book-to-movie adaptations go, one cannot choose a more inherently problematic project than American Psycho. I say this not because of the early 1990s controversy surrounding the novel (although anything decried by NOW as a "how-to manual on the torture and dismemberment of women" might raise a few snags), nor because of the mid-90s uproar brought about by a series of casting, directorial and financial changes in the making of the film. I say this because Bret Easton Ellis' novel -- a sprawling, satirical and at times brilliant take on 1980s excess -- is utterly and completely dependent on the style in which it is written. Written in a stream-of-consciousness first-person narrative, Ellis' wry, detached prose is more definitive of American Psycho's protagonist, Patrick Bateman, than any actual events, characters or actions that occur in the book. Bateman remains to the end a cipher; he is style -- cold and empty -- personified. At first glance it would seem that American Psycho, the novel, is utterly bereft of all the elements (like, say, plot and characterization) that American Psycho, the movie, would necessitate.

For most filmmakers, this would be a problem, and there is no doubt that had American Psycho landed in the wrong hands (say, Oliver Stone's), it could have been as crass, insipid and exploitative as the detractors of the novel claimed. Thankfully, the project was given to director Mary Harron, who in her second major motion picture reveals a talent and vision matched by few of her contemporaries. American Psycho is a bold, funny, dark and unconventional movie which retains Harron's distinct vision while still remaining true to the nature of the novel. This gutsy adaptation is what good filmmaking is all about.

Christian Bale, channeling the spirit of David Arquette.

For those out of the loop (or who haven't been subject to Lions Gate's totally cheesy promotional emails), American Psycho is the story of Patrick Bateman, Wall Street broker by day, serial killer by night, and Whitney Houston fan always. On the surface, the impeccably-groomed, conservative and conventional Bateman appears to be the ideal late-eighties yuppie, but underneath the surface lurks... well, nothing, really. This is the genius of Ellis' novel, and it carries over well into the film -- Bateman is not remotely contemplative of his brutal crimes. His murders are merely a natural extension of his cutthroat lifestyle; he puts down newspapers so blood won't splatter on his designer furniture as he slaughters his victims to the tune of "Sussudio". For all the talk over American Psycho's graphic violence and alleged misogynism, the source of outcry may have well lay in the fact that this sick, dark book is pretty damn funny.

Harron and cowriter Guinevere Turner understand this, and to their credit, American Psycho plays as a dark satire rather than the slasher movie it could have been. Rearranging the order of events but rarely deviating from the novel's amusing dialogue, Harron created something truly original -- a character study of a man who is more a collection of ideas than a unique personality unto his own. Every scene of American Psycho is as meticulously rich in detail as the book -- Harron's camerawork is heightened and exaggerated, but the sad joke is that, for all the visual beauty on display, there is absolutely nothing going on underneath. The movie is undoubtedly going to anger those seeking a traditional motive to Bateman's crimes or a sense of resolution; but by keeping the film loosely plotted as well as gorgeous in appearance, Harron drives the point of the work home in both idea and design.

Bale with co-star Chloe Sevigny

And then there is Christian Bale. Bale's performance as Bateman is truly amazing; in a just world, he'd receive an Oscar nomination next year, but somehow that doesn't seem likely. Bale manages to play Bateman to the point of absurdity without making the character so inane he becomes irrelevant. And while Bateman, whose Wall Street specialty is "murders and executions", remains consistently amusing in a purposely obvious way, Bale actually gives an oddly insightful performance. Bateman's reactions are portrayed as sort of at an inverse to the rest of the world -- when on the verge of a breakdown, Bateman never cries, not because, as is usually the case, he's holding back the tears, but because he honestly can't get the emotions to happen. There's simply no there there. Bret Easton Ellis once remarked that American Psycho was the most personal of his books (a confession greeted with utmost horror), and there are passages in the work that indicate it as such. Bale takes this idea and runs with it -- he gives the movie its heart by portraying a character for whom the idea of love or happiness is innately foreign.

DROOL FACTOR: Unless you've got a thing for yuppie scum (or an old Wall Street-era Charlie Sheen fetish like a certain 11th Hour managing editor I know), there's not much to be found in American Psycho. Sure, Bale is gorgeous as usual, but the movie as a whole serves as a reminder that the 1980s were an ugly place.

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: Much, much less bloody than its reputation belies, but watch out for those 1980s yuppie wardrobes.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Even more so than in the novel, American Psycho is more misandrist (would that were a word) than misogynist. Harron and Turner took pains to develop the female characters, and costars Reese Witherspoon, Cara Seymour and Chloe Sevigny are particular highlights. As for Samantha Mathis, well... she deserved Harsh Realm.

-- Sarah Kendzior

American Psycho releases nationwide on April 14th.

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