Tuesday, October 02, 2007
It's so rare to be surprised by a film
especially one I figured to be just another hack-em-up. But I just saw 2000's American Psycho for the first time, and it turned out to be an exceptional hack-em-up. A film with very similar thematic issues to Fight Club, which came out around the same time, if I'm not mistaken. Satirizing the banality of American culture, American greed, American relationships and sex, and ultimately, even the banality of American serial killers. I ended up repeatedly laughing out loud at the absurdity and self-destructive antics displayed by the main characters. Eventually the movie leaves you feeling a little dirty for enjoying the movie, which is probably part of the slap in the face the producers were hoping for: yes I, too, am part of the problem of American banality. And admitting it is the first step towards recovery.
This is clearly a movie that needs to be watched multiple times to figure out what is real and what is in the main character's mind. But the great lines can be enjoyed the first time through, but they're so much better with the delivery:
Patrick Bateman: [voice-over] There is a moment of sheer panic when I realize that Paul's apartment overlooks the park... and is obviously more expensive than mine.
----------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: I don't think we should see each other any more.
Evelyn Williams: Why? What's wrong?
Patrick Bateman: I need to engage in homicidal behaviour on a massive scale. It can not be corrected but I have no other way to fulfill my needs.
Evelyn Williams: What about the past?
Patrick Bateman: We never really shared one.
-------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: [excusing himself from Detective Kimball] Listen, you'll have to excuse me. I have a lunch meeting with Cliff Huxtable at the Four Seasons in 20 minutes.
---------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: He was into that whole Yale thing.
Donald Kimball: Yale thing?
Patrick Bateman: Yeah, Yale thing.
Donald Kimball: What whole Yale thing?
Patrick Bateman: Well, he was probably a closet homosexual who did a lot of cocaine. That whole Yale thing.
-------------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: Paul Allen has mistaken me for this d--ckhead Marcus Halberstram. It seems logical because Marcus also works at P&P and in fact does the same exact thing I do and he also has a penchant for Valentino suits and Oliver Peoples glasses. Marcus and I even go to the same barber, although I have a slightly better haircut.
-----------------------------------------------
Timothy Bryce: [after snorting "cut" cocaine] I want to get high off this, not sprinkle it on my f--king Oaties.
Patrick Bateman: Definitely weak, but I have a feeling that if we do enough of it we'll be okay.
Club Patron: [leans over from another booth] Will you keep it down? I'm trying to do drugs!
--------------------------------------
Victoria: [referring to the bloodstains on Bateman's sheets] What are those?
Patrick Bateman: Oh, uh, it's - cranberry juice. Uh, cran-apple.
This is clearly a movie that needs to be watched multiple times to figure out what is real and what is in the main character's mind. But the great lines can be enjoyed the first time through, but they're so much better with the delivery:
Patrick Bateman: [voice-over] There is a moment of sheer panic when I realize that Paul's apartment overlooks the park... and is obviously more expensive than mine.
----------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: I don't think we should see each other any more.
Evelyn Williams: Why? What's wrong?
Patrick Bateman: I need to engage in homicidal behaviour on a massive scale. It can not be corrected but I have no other way to fulfill my needs.
Evelyn Williams: What about the past?
Patrick Bateman: We never really shared one.
-------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: [excusing himself from Detective Kimball] Listen, you'll have to excuse me. I have a lunch meeting with Cliff Huxtable at the Four Seasons in 20 minutes.
---------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: He was into that whole Yale thing.
Donald Kimball: Yale thing?
Patrick Bateman: Yeah, Yale thing.
Donald Kimball: What whole Yale thing?
Patrick Bateman: Well, he was probably a closet homosexual who did a lot of cocaine. That whole Yale thing.
-------------------------------------------------
Patrick Bateman: Paul Allen has mistaken me for this d--ckhead Marcus Halberstram. It seems logical because Marcus also works at P&P and in fact does the same exact thing I do and he also has a penchant for Valentino suits and Oliver Peoples glasses. Marcus and I even go to the same barber, although I have a slightly better haircut.
-----------------------------------------------
Timothy Bryce: [after snorting "cut" cocaine] I want to get high off this, not sprinkle it on my f--king Oaties.
Patrick Bateman: Definitely weak, but I have a feeling that if we do enough of it we'll be okay.
Club Patron: [leans over from another booth] Will you keep it down? I'm trying to do drugs!
--------------------------------------
Victoria: [referring to the bloodstains on Bateman's sheets] What are those?
Patrick Bateman: Oh, uh, it's - cranberry juice. Uh, cran-apple.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
AddThis
Always sniffing for the truth
Contributors
Links
- Love and Lunchmeat
- Long Island Prepper
- Fredo's Mets Blog
- Continental Sausage
- Human Events
- Maker's Mark
- Michelle Malkin
- National Review
- Newt Gingrich
- NRO
- Pro Ecclesia
- Ralfy's Whisky Reviews
- Red Albany
- Res Publica et Cetera
- Sour Mash Manifesto
- Straight Bourbon
- Taki Mag
- The American Conservative
- The American Spectator
- The Anchoress Online
- The Politico
- The Weekly Standard
- Wild Turkey Bourbon
Blog Archive
-
▼
2007
(477)
-
▼
October
(59)
- Solid Citizenship Award
- Hillary
- Giuliani's aide de camp loses her mind
- A pre-Halloween scare for Fredo
- All Bogged Down and Nowhere to Go
- Wow! They Got Something Right!
- Congratulations Judge Southwick
- Ponnuru on McCain
- The Surge continues to produce positive results
- Fred's NH campaign manager goes turncoat,
- Rating the candidates
- The Huckabee Train Starts a-Rolling
- In a decision that the VA GOP will likely regret,
- Hey, DC, you paying attention?
- McCain vs. Clinton
- Where I stand in Decision '08
- Update Your Votes
- Jindal wins LA-Gov
- A few great conservative quotes
- End of an Error
- The Clinton Machine
- The Ills of the Country - Now on the Web!!!
- Life is beautiful
- Berger-Libby Hypocrisy
- Brownback dropping out?
- That's why they play the game
- Turkish Military Action
- This is not helpful
- This came from email
- John Paul the Great
- A spot on analysis of where Mitt stands
- If this were the private sector...
- Huckabee's Horton?
- Sia - Breath Me
- ManBearPig
- Today's word of the day
- Quiz Time
- Gore on the move?
- Sell-a-bray-shun Time, come on!
- Defending Mitt
- Fred Thompson Debate - Hem, Haw, and Ummm
- Debate wrap
- Ranking the field
- Hillary!-O!bama
- I grow weary of the spin
- The Times must be joking
- Somebody annoint Peggy Queen
- First there were clouds in the distance...
- Obama: Flag pins are for phony patriots
- Scalia- by any means necessary
- It's nice to see not everything's upside down
- Shocked again! This time it's frightening.
- Fred continues to underwhelm
- A landmark poll on free trade
- How'd a nitwit like you get so tasteful?
- Iran
- Read it. Carefully. Every single word.
- It's so rare to be surprised by a film
- Counting the days
-
▼
October
(59)
7 comments:
New card.
What do you think ?
Whoa-ho. Very nice.
Look at that. Picked them up from the printer's yesterday.
Good coloring. That's bone.
And the lettering is something called Silian Rail.
It's very cool, Bateman, but that's nothing. Look at this.
That is really nice.
Eggshell with Romalian type. What do you think ?
Nice.
Jesus. That is really super. How'da nitwit like you get so tasteful?
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.
Classic, Beast, just classic.
Silian Rail!!!!
That's bone.
"I have to return some videotapes!"
One of my all time favorite movies--glad to see you finally listened to me and checked it out.
BTW, the book is 10 times more graphic and bizarre.
I've only seen the movie once, so the videotape thing mystified (but amused) me. What's your take on this-just an 80's thing (like Rubik's cubes or Walkmans) or something more?
I think the movie is so rooted in 80's references and social structure that it absolutely helps to have lived in the decade or at least be familiar with it. Will AP resonate at all with the younger generation beyond being a dark satiric comedy? Not to the extent that we can--it's akin to an inside joke, either you're a part of it or not.
Pop culture references aside, the basic plot of a guy slipping into madness (which is all imagined--made much clearer in the book) is a timeless story. In this case, I feel it's almost Kafkaesque in its absurdist tone.
Bottom line--cool flick that was improperly maligned upon release (the critics obviously missed the joke) which should go down in the annals as one of the great '80's films (despite being released in 2000...).