In 2000, director Mary Harron presented to the public an unexpected and very bold movie at the genre junctions of horror, satire and psychological thriller. So, the viewer learned about one of the most striking antagonists of our time - Patrick Bateman, the hero of the film "American Psycho" and the novel of the same name by B. I. Ellis, on which the film project was based. The character with a respectable appearance of the devil was embodied on the screen by the wonderful actor Christian Bale, who was both frightening and hilarious in the image of a maniac from high society. The picture still remains an imperishable monument to the self-cycling yuppie culture, which did not disappear with the advent of a new era, but simply slightly transformed.
"Mr. Impeccability"
Trying to make a psychological portrait of Patrick Bateman, you involuntarily wonder about what is primary - internal problems or the appearance of a person? Does the character form the clothes that the individual wears, or, conversely, does his worldview determine the choice of an everyday suit? Patrick Bateman is radically different from himself “internal”, so much so that at some point the accumulated contradiction causes a collapse - a successful yuppie businessman breaks off the glamorous wrapper and turns into a psychopathic killer, whose cruelty has no limits. However, the bloody events that occur at night, do not prevent a man in the morning to look like "Mr. Impeccability."
Under the guise of decency
In the film, Patrick Bateman is a true metrosexual. He is obsessed with his own appearance, stylish accessories, fashionable clothes. Considering himself perfect, he is very annoyed, watching others. In his eyes all people are dirty, vulgar and stupid. Irritation soon gives way to rage, and a mask of decency flies from his well-groomed face. Director Mary Harron managed to focus on the characterization of the character - a daffodil, neglecting everything around him, except for his precious person.
Patrick Bateman, in addition to being divinely beautiful, is still successful and rich. He is committed to a healthy diet, exercise and order. Works on Wall Street, and lives in the most fashionable and prestigious area of ​​New York. He could very well have become a hero of a pseudo-erotic romkom, demonstrated wild passion and thrashed his mistress in a red room like Christian Gray from Fifty Shades of Gray. But unfortunately (or not?), Bateman chooses the path of violence and bloody killings. Moreover, he kills almost indiscriminately, not seeing much difference between women, men or children.
Two points of view
Patrick Bateman can be approached from two points of view. On the one hand, the director exposes the hero from the very beginning as a notorious sadist and psychopath, the audience does not have a drop of doubt that at night the mad yuppie does not part with the ax. But on the other hand, Bret Easton Ellis in a literary source demonstrates a great deal of subtlety in describing the events that take place, from his novel we can conclude that Bateman's atrocities are committed only in his dreams, being impressively realistic hallucinations. By the way, in the narrative of the picture, too, a couple of times “slip” that the bloody killings are not entirely realistic. At first, Bateman’s colleague claims that he saw his victim much later than the alleged “clumsy reprisal”, and in the end of the tape there is a phrase indicating that “Patrick’s confession is worth nothing.” Therefore, it is possible that the violence shown by the tape does not really matter, and the viewer, along with the hero, simply ended up in a world of bloody dreams.
Image work
The personality of Patrick Bateman is at least extraordinary, so the choice of the performer for the role has become the subject of a serious conflict between the director and the administration of LionsGate. The studio wanted a star actor to be involved in the project, Mary Harron saw only Christian Bale in the role. Bale was not at that time a star of the first magnitude, unlike DiCaprio, whom studio bosses wanted to see in the role. However, the director managed to insist on her own. Christian Bale approached the embodiment of the image in all seriousness. For a long time he could not feel for the facial expressions of his character, after he saw on TV an interview with Tom Cruise. The actor was overly friendly, but his eyes reflected a strange emptiness that made him suspect the falsity of his manners. Christian admits that he used Cruise as a source of inspiration along with the play of Nicolas Cage in the black comedy Vampire's Kiss.
Throughout the filming process - and in the frame, and just like that - the actor spoke with an American accent inherent in his character. He showed his usual English accent only during the celebration of the completion of filming. Even now, the actor recognizes the importance in his career of the role of a killer with an original aesthetic taste - Patrick Bateman. The filmography of the artist after participating in this project was replenished with a mass of famous works, including Machinist, Equilibrium, Prestige and the trilogy about the dark knight Batman, which means that Bale did not become a hostage to one role.