Written by Melissa Allen, who you can follow on Twitter at @melissajournal
This film may seem like an odd choice for Film of the Week, but this psychological thriller from 2000 starring Christian Bale (The Dark Knight trilogy) is a brilliant mashup of horror and believe it or not, comedy…
Film of the Week on Female First
Bale’s performance in American Psycho is nothing less than mesmerising. His character’s demeanor of a narcissistic pretty-boy who’s the big shot at his company, is a brilliant combination with his ‘bad side’; a killer who does the deed when someone gets on his nerves…
The film captures Bale in the classic light of the lovable rogue of sorts - you definitely don’t approve of his actions but you simultaneously love him despite what he decides to do. His self-absorbed attitude is brought out even more by his disturbingly comedic crimes. For example, in the scene where he kills Paul - an annoying co-worker played by Jared Leto, he plays some upbeat music while he grabs his axe and proceeds to dance around his apartment pretending to kill Paul right behind his head. While you feel like you shouldn’t laugh, you really can’t help yourself – especially since Paul IS a little annoying…
Despite the other characters in this film being brilliant in their own rights, Bale takes first prize not only because he is the lead, but he made this role his own in the comedic and simply perfect way he played it. Psychological thrillers and slasher films don’t usually scream funny, but American Psycho takes everything you love about a slasher film, and everything you love about a comedy, and merges them together to create this masterpiece.
The film utilises the cliché of the audience loving the main character because he is handsome and rich – however this works in a different way; as an audience member you begin to love this character not on the basis that he is the leading role, but because his charming persona makes you adore him. Again, his arrogant tendencies should make the audience dislike him, but in all honestly it adds to the character’s annoying yet amusing demeaner.
This film really is unlike any other and, while you don’t want to laugh or enjoy his acts of violence, the character is played so brilliantly that you don’t care what he does as long as he enjoys it.