The mandatory Willem Dafoe trivia: They filmed each of his scenes 3 times, once where he 'knows' Patrick did it, once where he doesn't trust Patrick, and once where he 'knows' that Patrick didn't do it. They then cut shots from each of those versions together to he's impossible to read in the film.
Very satirical, but I think it's a satire of white-collar culture more than it is a satire about a killer or delusional psycho. Have you listened to Huey Lewis and the News' Sports today? It's a flawless masterpiece.
Really? Haven't had a chance today to watch but now I'm super excited. So many reactors don't get it but than again most weren't alive in the 80's so I forgive them.
Specially the music, how Bateman only listens to this generic slop to be in with pop culture so he always has something to talk about and keep the appearance that he's the most normal person in any room.
My personal interpretation: it isn't ALL in his head, but some of it definitely is. He's a serial killer, but he's not the killer he thinks he is. Remember, our narrator is Patrick Bateman, and Patrick Bateman is a crazy person. So who knows what's real and what isn't? Patrick certainly doesn't.
The business card scene is my favorite of the film and one of the funniest movie scenes ever. The look on Patrick's face when he sees Paul Allen's card. This movie is like Breaking Bad in that no one tells you how funny it is before you watch it.
Willem Dafoe (Detective Kimball) acted each meeting with Bateman 3 ways in 3 different takes: 1. He knew Bateman was the killer, 2. He only suspected Bateman was the killer, 3. He did not suspect Bateman at all. These clips were later spliced together to keep the audience guessing
I saw another comment that suggested the real estate agent near the end "covered" for him because in her business, having a murder would be bad. Better to just quietly sell the place and move on
I've always read Patrick's final monologue as him basically explaining why he does horrible things to others. Its because he himself is pained. He's pained by trying so hard to fit in and conform to the environment that he's in. He does all this stuff to *look* the part but deep down he's something else. You guys picked up on that aspect immediately. He says that "inside doesnt matter" to shield himself from the painful truth that it in fact does. Patrick saying "inside doesnt matter" is again him trying to conform to the world around him that is so shallow and surface level. His pain is constant and sharp trying to live in that shallow world. So he lets loose by hurting others and those outside of it. The movie and the book are a huge metaphor for wall stree/business/high class culture. Where they have everything anyone could ever want but are often empty inside. Seen as just another "big wig" or "rich person" or "suit". They all blend together. And these people are often aware of that pain and emptiness they feel. But rather than self-reflect or do something to fulfill themselves they choose hurt those beneath them, the less fortune or the marginalized.
This movie shifts between funny satire and grim brutality so often-it’s unsettling, but compelling at the same time. I believe this movie helped Christian Bale get cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Bruce Wayne is basically Patrick Bateman dialled down to almost-serial-killer level. Great reaction!
I read the novel like 25 years ago. This was a time when I was traveling a lot by train. Especially in terms of violence, the book is sometimes even more bizarre than the movie. So I caught myself from time to time looking around if anybody was peeking at the pages, reading what I was reading, because I felt fascinated and uncomfortable at the same time.
Renting videos was extremely common at that time. This was pre-internet. Even cable TV wasn't nearly as expansive as it is now. There was just TV, cinema, and home video.
12:08 First Patrick got jealous of Paul Allen's business card, then he got jealous of Paul getting reservation at Dorsia. Then, he got jealous that Paul got a better deal, and refused to tell his secret. And, finally Paul called Patrick a loser (although he didn't know he was talking to Patrick, he thought it was Marcus)... What more reasons do you need to axe a man? Come on, be reasonable 😈
Its a black comedy. I think its sort of a metaphor for how sick people are who are so shallow and arrogant. Whether he actually does bad stuff or not, probably not, but still probably has a bad effect on others being so rich and selfish. And living in that world... amongst those people. You'd have to be mad... maybe not serial killer mad, but mad, dangerous, and hurtful nonetheless. They all are. I think it really comes down to that sort of message. People that are so far gone in that lifestyle are nuts and out of touch with humanity.
More people need to check out the cult classic sorta loose follow-up The Rules of Attraction from same novelist. It's fantastic and equally darkly funny :-)
I read the Novel, its one of the most insane books ive ever read! And I've read the novels of The Marquis De Sade, who the word "Sadism" was named after! 😮
You guys HAVE to watch Empire of the Sun. Christian Bale was only 12 when he starred in it, and even then you could tell there was something unique and special about his acting. Other Bale movies you should see: Swing Kids, Rescue Dawn, and The Prestige. Absolutely incredible movies. He really hasn’t been in a bad movie ever.
It's interesting I'd say a majority of people who watch this movie think it's all in his head at the end. But you guys nailed it, everyone is so obsessed with themselves and everyone is being the exact same person so everyone is utterly oblivious.
What I think makes this movie so interesting is that it could be both. And it's completely impossible to tell the difference between reality and delusion. The world of these people is so bizarre that both possibilities seem equally plausible at the same time.
I read the book a long time ago (its 10x more brutal) and there were a couple wild things that happened that I thought made either explanation plausible. I always thought in the movie though, especially with the real estate woman at the end, to me it totally seemed like she was acting like she was part of brushing stuff under the rug. Like yeah a psycho murderer lived here but we aren't going to talk about that, because I have business to tend to, so get outta here.
I don't think either idea is entirely wrong. There are definitely things in that murder spree sequence that couldn't possibly have happened in real life. The atm did not ask for a cat. A cop car did not explode from a single shot. It's not a huge stretch to think that no part of that sequence was real. But I think there's a definite combination of reality and fiction being outlined there that includes the social commentary aspect.
This is a great movie. The book, which I read first, was way more graphic and disturbing, but impossible to put down. Before I read that one, a friend made me read "Less Than Zero", by the same author, and it was pretty good, but it was made into a really good movie with a stellar performance by Robert Downey Junior. I would recommend that one, definitely.
By the way, the first Christian Bale movie was a stunning WW2 film called "Empire of the Sun" that also starred John Malkovich, and it is a work of art by Steven Spielberg. Christian Bale owned the screen from the beginning of his career.
For horror maybe try the series of The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Midnight Club and Midnight Mass. For movies: Event Horizon, The Girl With All The Gifts, No One Can Save You, A Quiet Place Parts 1, 2 and Day One, Cape Fear (remake), Let the Right One In (original) and Life (2017).
Ah, Yuppies. The proto-corporate servant. So facile, and so dead inside. This isn't my favourite Ellis novel but it made for a strangely compelling movie. Bale fights dragons in Reign of Fire, so I'll recommend that particular film. Matthew McConaughey is also in that one, among others.
Out of all the reactions to this movie, Jordan is the ONLY one that picked up on the fact that what Patrick says about music is pre-written. They're actually REVIEWS he's read in newspapers or magazines (same with the situation in Sri Lanka, when he was talking about food at restaurants, etc.) and he's memorized them so he can repeat them as his own thoughts, because he really has nothing original to say about anything.
With this and "Equiblibrium" my Fandom with Christian Bale has begun. Together with Gary Oldman probably the greatest Actor of the last Decades. The Movie is very different to the Book, but they nailed the Satire in the Movie and Christian Bale is just perfect as Patrick Bateman.
American Psycho Producer: «American Psycho works and it endures because [the female writers] recognized that Patrick Bateman and all his friends, despite their youth, their good looks, their wealth, and their privilege, are losers. Its not simply they are deplorable, they are also morons. [The writers] are not afraid to make fun of the Patrick Batemans of the world to their faces while simultaneously recognizing a painful and horrifying truth: Patrick Bateman is INVINCIBLE and HE'LL GET AWAY WITH WHATEVER TRANGRESSION he decides to commit. Because when you are a Patrick Bateman people chose not to hold you accountable» The ironic and cruel tragedy of a man/psychopath who cannot be tragic (=achieve catharsis + punishment/forgiveness, f.e.), who does not suffer punishment, who is not identified by others for his most horrendous or noble singularities («[the] inside doesn't matter»), who is too invincible/privileged to be punished/imprisoned/locked up. He's a man who can't love, who doesn't have time for it, who doesn't see love as a market value or a worthy investment. A man who is not satisfied with the rare and capitalist pleasures of the best whores, caviar or human blood. He has to kill to get revenge (from his own class), to be somebody, to stay on top and privileged, but he doesn't get any sustained or lasting pleasure from that hard-earned sovereignty. He's not in communication with anyone. Nobody empathizes with him and he empathizes with nobody. Communication for him is an illusion, an impossibility. Nobody understands him (not even those who are EXACTLY like him because the tools of empathy, "socialism" and mercy are too foreign and repulsive to them). Even those who want him for his class status don't listen to him, they just submit to his orders and are horrified by his crimes as a capitalist and patrician (“Just say NO!!!”, he says/orders/begs to Jean), etc...etc.... «There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it I have now surpassed. My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. (!) In fact, I want my pain to be inflicted on others. (!) I want no one to escape, but even after admitting this, there is no catharsis. My punishment continues to elude me and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing.»
Seriously you guys need to checkout a few of Dario Argento movies, the ones I highly recommend are Suspiria (1977) and Demons (1985) and the sequel Demons 2 (1986)
The reason why he is able to freely chase someone with a chainsaw is because the building is owned by his father and is under construction. Patrick is the only person living there and it's his "torture chamber". The stuff in the book that goes on in that apartment is insane.
Don’t know if either of you two are book readers but the book that this film is based on is even more insane. Just like the film it is gory with elements of black comedy and social commentary
The GOATs - The Blair Witch Project, Jaws, The Thing (Carpenter), Fire Walk With Me (Twin Peaks) The Classics - The Fog, Halloween, Prince of Darkness (all Carpenter), A Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven), Dawn of the Dead (Romero), Evil Dead (Raimi), Hellraiser, Night of the Comet, Nightbreed, Scanners, The Blob (1988) Grindhouse - Last House, I Spit on Your Grave, Planet Terror, Cannibal Ferox Modern classics - Hostel 2, House of 1,000 Corpses, The Innkeepers, The Green Inferno, The Cabin in the Woods, Shawn of the Dead, Zombieland, Event Horizon, Feast, Wolf Creek, What We Do In The Shadows, Midsommer New standards - Get Out, It Follows, Don’t Breathe, The VVitch, Unfriended Diamonds in the rough - Martyrs (French), V/H/S: 2, The Sacrament, The Devil’s Rejects, Halloween (Zombie), The Cell, The Loved Ones, Carrie (I prefer the new one, sorry !), Grave Encounters, Silent Hill, Ruins, Lords of Salem, Excision, Revenge So crap they are funny - Troll 2, Sleepaway Camp, Death Spa, Maximum Overdrive, Rubber
Real good Christian Bale movies are Rescue Dawn, The Machinist, and Equalibrium. And for Halloween month, please watch the original cool/fun zombie movie. The Return Of The Living Dead.
I had so much fun watching your reaction to this movie. I also think it's the best I've seen to this movie. You really picked up on a lot of things. Always enjoyable reactions 🌈🌈🩷🩷
When I first watched this movie I knew immediately that he is sick in the head. The first scene where he narrate his beauty routine, anyone who spend so much time thinking about their appearance must have a screw loose, the rest of the movie confirmed my assumptions. I have met people similar to him/them in real life, they are unsettling to say the least. Great on you for understanding the movie by the end!
You guys get it more than most others. Hello is an unreliable narrator, but he did most likely kill Paul Allan and others. He looks like everyone else and so do they. That's how he killed Paul but he was seen in London, they are interchangeable, that's how he has an alibi.
According to the directors commentary, he did all the early murders but after the "feed me the cat" is all a psychotic break. She didn't mean for it to seem like none of it happened.
Brett Easton Ellis said: "I wanted to write a novel about the people on Wall Street making vast sums of money. I wanted to write about someone who was very emblematic of the period. But I was also writing about myself. In many ways Patrick Bateman was me: his rage, his disgust and to a degree his passivity stem from what I was feeling at the time. And boredom."
They covered up the crimes because they wanted to sell/rent the apartment. No one would have rented that apartment if they knew the crimes that happened there. The real estate agency renovated the apartment and hid what they found in it.
The apartment was cleaned up because its a multimillion dollar property in one of the most prestigious addresses in New York. They were absolutely not going to spoil that prestige by telling people were murdered there.
Want to be floored by a performance? Watch Christian Bale in his first film, Empire of the Sun. He was 13 at the time and gave an amazing performance. It's a Stephen Spielberg film about the Japanese invasion of China. More to it than that, but I wouldn't want to spoil anything.
OK, 29:46-29:51 is THE exchange to establish your different approaches. That was one of the funniest hings I've seen on this channel. This conversation is NOT over lol.
I would think this is the role that got him Brice Wayne/Batman. Jordan, that parody you were thinking about is a Funny or Die skit with Weird Al and Huey Lewis in the Patrick Bateman role. If you're looking for a bit of lighter horror fare, I'd suggest 1982s "Creepshow".
For spooky season, I would like to recommend the 1985 classic, "The Return of the Living Dead". Of course you can't go wrong with the original, "Night of the Living Dead", or "Dawn of the Dead" (the remake is good too).
Try the book. It displays Bateman’s character more definitively. But it’s much harder to get through. I read it defiantly after an ex-bandmate said “I couldn’t finish it.”
I think you guys would really enjoy You're Next- it has one of the best final girls ever and you'll be clapping and cheering right along with her. As for if this movie really happened or no, I go back and forth, these days I think a lot of it was Patrick's imaginings (hence, his incredible marksmanship with the gun- that Jordan commented on, the police cars blowing up just from being shot with a pistol, and Bateman's reaction when it happens). But every time I watch it, I form a different opinion. One of my favorites and I laugh at the absurdity every time.
I think Patrick takes Jared Leto to that different seeming restaurant because he doesn’t want anyone in their circle to see them together the night of the murder. Just a guess though.
Hello Chandra & Jordan!😊 You guys probably know nostalgia is in right now with films, especially with the advent of CGI fatigue. People are into films that rely on practical effects. I have a good cult classic horror film I haven't seen anyone react to for a while. It is "Fright Night" (1985). Another practical comedy horror film is "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" (1988) if you are looking for a lighter horror. He tells the Willem Dafoe character he has a lunch meeting with Cliff Huxtable. That is the character of Bill Cosby on the TV sitcom "The Cosby Show". This is a crazy psychological film! Great reactions to this wacky film, Guys!!!🎬👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Now, I've got to go "I need to return some video tapes".🤣🤣🤣🤣 "The Prestige" (2006) is an awesome psychological thriller with Christian Bale.🏆
Apparently Christian Bale earned a reputation on set for being able to sweat on cue in the business card scene. His costars noticed he would start to sweat at the exact same spot in the scene every take. Also he based his character off a Tom Cruise interview from the 90's (on Rosie O'Donnell's Show), saying there was a "very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes"
The movie is it’s own thing, and you guys seemed to get it. To better understand a lot of the nuance and finer details, the book is a must read. Way more extreme than the film and a scathing indictment of crass consumerism, “one-upmanship”, greed, jealousy, etc. The book had page long descriptions of the brands, clothing, meals, etc and Bateman’s obsession with keeping up with his contemporaries. Book and movie are great satire.
Great reaction! I loved how perceptive you both are, picking up on the nuances of Patrick's bizarre world. If you're looking for more scary movie recommendations, have you seen The Descent (2005)? It's a fantastic movie, and plays with all sorts of horror, from gore and brutality to suspense and psychological. Just make sure you watch the original UK cut, not the US cut. UK is slightly longer, and you don't miss anything from the US cut.
