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That was the sick part of the book - the loss of inner humanity
among a sea of greed and gloss as lightweight people tried
to be seen as important.
Having heard bad things about the movie version of the book,
it was with a let's-see attitude that it went on the DVD player.
Well, how wrong can people be - very much like the book.
To the charge that it would disappoint those who liked the
book. Wrong! The movie is a very good screen adaptation, with
the main characters so pathetically trapped in suits, hairdos
and (shock) the style of business cards - that you just cannot
help but sneer at them.
To the charge that it was not bloody enough. Well, if it
was as visually graphic as the book's words - it would not
have got past the censor.
However, there's enough violence and gore in it to satisfy
most raw-meat eaters. The crunching of bones as he stomps
a dog to death is particularly yukky.
But, the important thing with American Psycho (the
DVD), is that it is a well-written black comedy that rams
home the anti-narcisstic point of both the original author
and the director.
Christian Bale is excellent as Paul Bateman, an Armani-wearing
nutcase who cannot resist the desires to torture and kill
people who annoy him. At times, they don't even need to do
that, he just likes killing things.
The only other leading character you can remember is his
really nice secretary (Chloe Sevigny) who puts up with her
boss because she likes him.
All the other people, apart from Willem Dafoe's offbeat detective,
are very much like the yuppies of the 1980s - boring, facile
nonentities.
There is one regret about Bateman's murderous nature - and
that is that it's a pity he didn't kill more Wall St tossers
while he was about it.
Never mind, we can always hope for a sequel.
Conclusion: Movie 85%, Extras 65%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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