After having just watched American Psycho, it's only now dawned on me how few films I've seen Christian Bale in. Of course, I saw Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and I'm fairly certain I watched Pocahontas at least once as a child. But other than that, I really don't think I've seen him in much. This is something I'm going to have to remedy posthaste, considering that Christian Bale is positively brilliant here.
The plot involves 80's businessman, Patrick Bateman (Bale, channeling Nic Cage circa Vampire's Kiss); when he's not climbing corporate ladders on Wall Street, Bateman spends his time butchering call girls and homeless people in an attempt to sate his latent, psychotic bloodlust. Truthfully, that's about the extent of the plot. We follow Bateman for the entirety of the film, watching him commit various horrifying deeds while he narrates his thoughts and feelings on the proceedings. There isn't much of an arc or central conflict; the whole thing feels more like a look at a period in time rather than a definite story with a beginning, middle, and end. It's a little unorthodox, but the plot is hardly the main selling point here. In this case, it's all about the performances and the meaning behind the actions of the characters.
Bale is absolutely phenomenal as Patrick Bateman; despite him being such a psychotic, evil human being, he still manages to be oddly charming and endearing. He does horrible, disgusting things, but he's just so charismatic, you can't completely hate him. He doesn't come off as an antagonist so much as a protagonist who is utterly deplorable in every imaginable way. Bale's sense of energy and comedic timing are cranked up to eleven here; within a single scene, he's able to build a wall of tension, then make you laugh out loud without that tension breaking even slightly. It's a masterful blend of horror and pitch-black comedy that works spectacularly well together. For the first two acts, Patrick Bateman comes off as someone who is legitimately psychotic; not "horror movie" psychotic, but rather genuinely dangerous and unpredictable. Despite his eccentricities, they all come off as genuine and he avoids feeling like a silly slasher villain and more like a legitimate serial killer. That is, until around the third act; as the film goes on, I noticed several touches that had Bateman's character descend somewhat into the realm of hilarious cheese. Everywhere else in the movie, the contrast in tone manages to work perfectly here, but there's one scene in particular near the end that comes off as really quite jarring, even though it begins and ends in an appropriately chilling fashion. To put it in perspective, the first two acts can be taken completely seriously; you can define them as straight-up psychological horror. Any traces of comedy only serve to make the situation that much more uncomfortable. The third act, however, should be given a little more leeway when it comes to tone. This is interesting, seeing as how the third act is easily the most in-depth in terms of subtext and meaning.
In supporting roles, we have Chloë Sevigny, Cara Seymour, and Willem Dafoe. Sevigny plays Jean, Bateman's secretary. I enjoyed this performance in particular, considering the very interesting relationship the two have with each other. Bateman is chauvanistic and patronizing, but never really straight-up mean to her. Considering this is a man who "likes to dissect girls", one could consider a few backhanded remarks to be getting off easy. Conversely, Jean takes it all in stride; she calls Patrick by his first name and feels much less like his subordinate than his behavior would imply. Cara Seymour portrays a prostitute who ends up involved with Bateman; we never learn her real name, as he simply decides to refer to her as "Christie". She plays the part well and comes off as appropriately tragic and sympathetic, but I can't help but wish we saw more of her. Bateman himself is an interesting character, but it's also interesting to see some things from the point of view of his victims. All that said, I can't really complain; the mystery surrounding this character helps sell the idea that she could be anybody. Patrick literally finds her on the side of the road, so what happens to her could literally happen to anyone, making Bateman's actions all the more effective. In the role of Detective Donald Kimball, we have Willem Defoe. Defoe is a favorite actor of mine, but I feel he's under-utilized here. All he really does is question Christian Bale in a few scenes, but nothing really comes of it. He does a good job, but there's not enough of him to make it especially noteworthy.
American Psycho is an excellent film; it's brilliantly shot, smartly written, and simply oozes personality. The majority of the movie's high points come care of Christian Bale, giving the best performance I've seen out of him yet, but it's clear he wouldn't shine as brightly as he does if the writing and direction weren't as strong as they are. If you're looking for a wholly unique psychological thriller, put down a few tarps, pop in some Huey Lewis, and give American Psycho a watch.
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