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American Psycho (2000) Christian Bale Justin Theroux Josh Lucas Bill Sage Chloe Sevigny Plot Synopsis: Patrick Bateman a young well to do man working on wall street at his father s company kills for no reason at all. As his life progresses his hatred for the world becomes more and more intense. Based on the book by Bret Easton Ellis. Review: The Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho a dark violent satire of the "me" culture of Ronald Reagan s 1980s is certainly one of the most controversial books of the 90s and that notoriety fueled its bestseller status. This smart savvy adaptation by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) may be able to ride the crest of the notoriety prior to the film s release Harron fought a ratings battle (ironically for depictions of sex rather than violence) but at the time the director stated "We re rescuing the book from its own bad reputation." Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) overcome many of the objections of Ellis s novel by keeping the most extreme violence offscreen (sometimes just barely) suggesting the reign of terror of yuppie killer Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) with splashes of blood and personal souvenirs. Bale is razor sharp as the blank corporate drone a preening tiger in designer suits whose speaking voice is part salesman part self-help guru and completely artificial. Carrying himself with the poised confidence of a male model he spends his days in a numbing world of status-symbol one-upmanship and soul-sapping small talk but breaks out at night with smirking explosions of homicide accomplished with the fastidious care of a hopeless obsessive. The film s approach to this mayhem is simultaneously shocking and discreet even Bateman s outrageous naked charge with a chainsaw is most notable for the impossibly polished and gleaming instrument of death. Harron s film is a hilarious cheerfully insidious hall of mirrors all pointed inward slowly cracking as the portrait becomes increasingly grotesque and insane. DVD Details: Actors: Christian Bale Justin Theroux Josh Lucas Bill Sage Chlo Sevigny Directors: Mary Harron Format: Anamorphic Closed-captioned Color Dolby Widescreen NTSC Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Number of discs: 1 Studio: Universal Studios DVD Release Date: September 5 2000 Run Time: 103 minutes
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