Christian Bale’s best movie turns 25 years old
One of the most interesting pieces of media in the world happen to be Christian Bale’s best film. I am talking about American Psycho, of course. And now the iconic Mary Harron film turns 25!
Released on April 14, 2000, American Psycho is an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis book of the same name by Harron and co-write Guinevere Turner. It is, after all, the reason I think that women should always have a hand in telling American Psycho. The book by Ellis boiled down into his upset with New York and his own hatred of the world and what he actually created was a nearly perfect satire of rich white men and the villains they can become.
Patrick Bateman is what toxic masculinity breeds. He’s a rich man who always thinks he has to be the best and if he isn’t, he’ll literally kill to get there. Or, if you believe it is all in his head, he will fantasize about it. But Harron and Turner’s script brought a new layer to Bateman that I think then carried into Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s musical adaptation. They looked at the mental state of a man who could murder when he had, in theory, everything a man could want.
All of it lead to a deep love for me. American Psycho is one of those pieces of media that I think can constantly be revisited and reimagined because it is, unfortunately always a timely piece. Even with its 80s setting, the book and movie are both representative of what we’re dealing with in today’s world. It’s why I was so upset that the musical wasn’t as well received because I think it carried the film’s legacy on beautifully.
An unfortunately timeless piece
Looking at the world today, we have people like Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate, poisoning the minds of young men. I think of them and the toxicity that drives a character like Patrick Bateman and think about how society as learned nothing from this piece of media. There are people in this world who think Bateman is someone to love and admire. He’s not. He’s a literal monster.
The character of Patrick Bateman takes and, as the musical says, he “wants it all” and will sell his soul in order to get it. Yes, the film is clever with its jokes about “murders and executions” but I think that it is one of those movies that is deeper than a lot of people give it credit for. They see Christian Bale flexing and laugh but it shows the vanity of this man and his own self-obsession and desire for his own pleasure.
All of this is American Psycho and it is all my favorite story to engage with. It is why I am excited to see what Luca Guadagnino and Scott Z. Burns do with the piece but my heart will always belong to Harron and Turner’s adaptation of Ellis’ work. So here is to you, you beautiful film. Happy 25th birthday. Only two more years until your dreaded 27th birthday.
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