Movies - American Psycho

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	Movies - American Psycho

American Psycho (1991) is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis about a young Manhattanite and possible serial killer. A film adaptation was released in 2000.

The novel

Plot

American Psycho is set in the late 1980s, mainly in Manhattan, and chronicles roughly two years in the life of Patrick Bateman, the novel's protagonist and narrator. Bateman, 26 years old at the beginning of the story, may or may not be a serial killer. Coming from a privileged background, Bateman matriculated at Harvard (class of '84) and has become a seemingly prototypical yuppie. He works as a Wall Street banker at the firm of Pierce & Pierce.

In the novel, Bateman describes how he kills and tortures a large number of people, including:

Beautiful young women ("hardbodies"), never older than Bateman himself, whom he "punishes" for being what they are: friends or former friends of his. Examples are his ex-girlfriend Bethany, prostitutes, and escort girls.
Business rivals, particularly a man named Paul Owen (Paul Allen in the film version), whom he kills in his own apartment.
The poor, homeless and unemployed men he stumbles across in the streets of Manhattan, whom he refers to as the "genetic underclass." For example, an African American beggar whom, on a whim, he blinds and whom he meets again at the end of the novel.
People from different ethnic backgrounds (apart from the beggar mentioned above, a Chinese delivery boy, whom he mistakes for Japanese).
Innocent people he randomly comes across in the street, including a young boy he stabs at the zoo in Central Park, a gay man with a dog, and a saxophonist.
At one point in the novel, people he shoots while he is being chased by the police (including a taxi driver, a policeman, a night watchman, and a janitor).
Animals such as dogs and rats.

Unlike many real-life serial killers, Bateman lacks a particular or consistent methodology. He tortures and kills his victims in a variety of ways which are often outrageous, using a wide variety of implements including guns and knives, axes, nail guns, chainsaws, and acid, among others. It is also interesting to consider those Bateman chooses not to kill, despite being presented with ample opportunity. Three prominent examples are his secretary Jean, his fiancée Evelyn Williams, and a gay friend and coworker, Luis Carruthers. Perhaps he is not able to kill any of them because they are all in love with him (doubts are allowed concerning his fiancée).

The greed, disgust, and sadistic pleasure that Bateman takes in murder, and the homicidal rage that motivates him, are the only forms of emotion of which Bateman is capable. By the end of the novel, even killing can't arouse any feeling in him; he is left completely hollow.

Bateman's personality

In American Psycho, all the Wall Street people dress perfectly, eat only the best and most expensive food and keep their bodies in shape by working out in exclusive health clubs. In the course of the novel Bateman discusses things like which brand of bottled water is the best, how to wear a cummerbund, or which tie knot is less bulky than a Windsor knot. Bateman knows all the answers and could pass for a very refined, intelligent, and thoughtful young man. This, his "public persona," is sharply contrasted with his alter ego. In addition to murder, Bateman tortures his victims before killing them, commits violent acts during sex, and commits acts of cannibalism and necrophilia.

Bateman is extremely style-conscious and often goes into copious detail regarding the brand name, design, and origin of his and other people's possessions. He describes his own wardrobe and accessories on a regular basis, including the fabric of which they are made, the name of the designer, and the store from which they were purchased.

Bateman is extremely homophobic and abhors all advances (real or imagined) by "faggots." He is especially offended by Luis Carruthers, who confesses his love for him but who ends up marrying a woman out of a combination of convenience and peer pressure. He also forces two prostitutes to have sex with one another and brutally tortures them afterwards.

Another of the inconsistencies in Bateman's life is that he is, on the one hand, very health conscious. For example, he is a militant non-smoker (except for an occasional cigar) and works out fanatically. On the other hand, he consumes large amounts of alcohol and drugs. This hypocrisy is shared by other characters in the novel. However it can be effectively argued that Bateman's obsession with health and fitness comes from a sense of vanity as opposed to a genuine care for health and well-being; being overweight and smelling of cigarette smoke may be unattractive, while abuse of cocaine leaves little physical tell-tale signs. It is interesting to note that while the focus of many chapters in the book is Bateman's (frequently futile) attempts to "score" cocaine, he is judgmental of his brother's use of the drug, and of several other freebasers.

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Movies - American Psycho

The novel

Plot

Bateman's personality

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