After watching this movie with my squeamish younger sister–which probably wasn't the best idea– I was able to determine that American Psycho is a 3 1/2 Didomenico kind of movie. While the storyline had me very intrigued with the complicated main character, there were parts that were quite boring or totally unrelatable. In this film, Patrick Batemen, the main character, is a very confident, harsh, greedy man with similar friends. The movie has an interesting portrayal of the wealthy class, showing them as overly self-absorbed and ignorant.
The Camera
Throughout this movie, camera shots, angles, and movement play an extremely important role when developing the character of Patrick Bateman. In one particular scene, a prostitute gets up to leave Bateman's bed, where he and an escort are laying. As she takes one last glance at the two, before walking out the door, she clearly sees something disturbing, as shown in the unnerving look on her face. The camera then zooms into the bed, showing blood begin to seep through the beige sheets followed by the escort screaming, indicating that Bateman is at it again. Mid-kill, Bateman notices the prostitute running away and immediately begins chasing her. He disappears for a moment and the camera begins following closely behind the prostitute, catching all of her frantic movements as she tries to find her way out of the apartment. In doing so, she stumbles upon the bloodied bodies of Bateman's previous victims. Suddenly, the sound of a chainsaw emerges and Bateman is shown wielding his weapon. The camera now follows Bateman closely as he darts after his victim. The whole time, Bateman and his victim are shown at eye level to each other–up until now. As the prostitute runs down the spiraling stairs, Bateman, shot from a low angle, peers down at her, calculating when it will be perfect to release the chainsaw. He finally does so, and it hits her dead on. His bloodied face is then shown again, yelling down to his latest victim at the foot of the stairs. He looks pleased with his work as he grins.
It is very common for the camera to follow Bateman, tracking his intense actions. This is done to make the viewer feel as if they are in his psychopathic shoes. The movement also switches to the perspective of Bateman's victim, using the handheld camera method to emulate actions of one running. This builds suspense, further making the viewer feel anxious and uneasy, while being chased alongside Bateman's victim. The camera angles of this movie were not at all what I was expecting. Patrick Bateman, the clearly dominant and forceful role is typically eye level with the rest of the characters. Instead of using low angles to show his dominance, the camera portrays Bateman the same as the other characters. Upon further examination, I realize this tactic was used to make Bateman fit in with his friends, just as he was doing in society. He may have been psychotically murdering people left and right, but his public appearance remained stable. He seemed normal, just as everyone else, which, in my opinion, makes the story even scarier. It suggests that there can be homicidal psychopaths walking among us without drawing any suspicion.
In the opening scene of the movie, the camera pans through Patrick Batman's apartment. Everything appears to be orderly and in pristine condition. The place is nearly perfect, which is ironic because Bateman's mind is quite the opposite. It is filled with very dark, disturbing thoughts. There is also a very prominent theme of black and white. I figure this is a metaphor for Bateman's life. He appears to be perfect on the outside. He is in shape, good looking, intelligent, very wealthy, popular amongst his friends, and engaged to a beautiful woman, all by the age of 27. To some people, that's the whole package; everything they want their life to be. The good side of Bateman is represented by the white color, eluding to purity and innocence. On the other hand, Bateman is a homicidal maniac with no feelings. People like him are often considered the worst, sickest part of society, which is why the black is also present in the scene. It represents Bateman's dark character. However the two colors are evenly dispersed throughout the apartment, possibly signifying that all of the "good" Bateman has is evenly balanced with the "bad." And as I explained earlier, he has a whole lot of good in his life at the moment.
I recently watched a film with a fairly similar story. Serial Mom is a dark comedy about someone you'd never expect to be a serial killer. In this movie, the mother of two children murders anyone who wrongs, or even slightly annoys, her family. Both American Psycho and Serial Mom have a very interesting twist on the typical serial killer movie. Both films add in a touch of comedy on top of all the suspense and gore, which is something I rarely get to see. These movies didn't just attempt to incorporate humor, they were quite successful in doing so. I can honestly say I laughed out loud during scenes of both movies.
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