Links to other films:
Judging from the title, American Psycho ("American Psycho", fans of suspense dramas will inevitably think of Hitchcock's Psycho ("Psycho"). The protagonist's name is Bateman, and the hero of Master Xi Named Norman Bates, the connection is obvious.
This film can be regarded as the American version of "A Clockwork Orange": the protagonists are all psychopaths, and their behavior is bloody and violent; they all reflect the distortion and abnormality of society; the film "A Clockwork Orange" was banned in the UK for 20 years, and "American Spirit" The original book of The Sick was banned in some regions; both were violent crimes against women. The difference is that in "A Clockwork Orange" Alex is just a villain, while Bateman is a serial killer; "A Clockwork Orange" is set in a dystopian England in a future world, and the American psychopath is somewhat nostalgic, the story takes place in America in the 1980s, with Ronald Reagan speaking on TV at the end.
Both Hitchcock and Kubrick are senior figures who have influenced the film industry and can be recorded in film history. They can be seen in many works, especially in suspense or thriller films.
In Dexter, the male protagonist once used Patrick Bateman as a pseudonym. Like Bateman, the hero of the film, Dexter lives a double life: glamorous during the day and bloodthirsty at night.
There's a scene where Bateman is at home, and his 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre is on his TV. It echoes the scene where Bateman runs after Kristy with a chainsaw.
Links to popular music:
The film does not seem to have original music.
Bateman always tells his prey in great detail about all kinds of pop music he likes before killing people.
It is said that one of the biggest components of the cost of the film is buying the music rights.
While Bateman spoke fondly of Whitney Houston, the singer adamantly disagreed with any of her songs appearing in the film, so she didn't get to hear it during the viewing.
One of the ending credits is David Bowie's Something in the Air, which is also used in Nolan's film Memento; Christian Bale starred in Nolan's "Deadly Magic," and David Bowie is also here Tesla played in the movie. Christian Bale and Nolan collaborated on the Dark Knight trilogy, and Batman is only one letter apart from Batman.
Connections to the fashion world:
The male protagonist works on Wall Street, with a meticulous appearance, suits and leather shoes, and many famous brands. Here are some of the brands' stories with the film:
Cerruti agrees that the male protagonist wears their brand's clothes, but not in the killing scene;
Rolex agrees that all characters wear the brand's watch, but Bateman cannot, so the line is Don't touch the watch, not Don't touch the Rolex in the original book;
Calvin Klein withdrew from the film, while another brand, Perry Ellis, provided all the underwear for the film;
Comme des Garcons refused to use its own brand of sleeping bag for the body, so Jean Paul Gaultier's sleeping bag was used to transport the dead Paul Allen.
Bateman has a strict body and skin care routine every morning, in which complex toiletries are not examined one by one.
other:
The paintings in Bateman's apartment are handpicked, not a slap in the face of movie posters like in the room of the "Tailoring" actor.
There are Surrogate Paintings by Allan McCollum and Men in the Cities by Robert Longo.
In the scene where Paul Allen is killed, two GQ magazines can be seen on the table: The Lusts and Luck of Corbin Bernsen in the August 1987 issue and Timothy Dalton is the New James Bond in the June 1987 issue.
Personal summary:
Seeing other comments discussing whether these killings are real or not, personally doesn't really matter. Importantly, the film reflects a materialistic, consumerist, superficial American society. There are a lot of scenes where people are called by the wrong name, people don't listen to each other, they just talk to themselves.
The business card scene is particularly ironic. Everyone just compares the small differences on the paper and watermarks, but they don't notice that the business card misprints Acquisitions as Aquisitions; and everyone's name is vice president. As the protagonist said, Inside doesn't matter, just look bright and beautiful.
Despite the participation of big-name actresses such as Reese Witherspoon, the female characters in this film are all weak, or become the background of the story, or become victims.
The original author, Bret Easton Ellis, received multiple death threats after the original book was published, and was criticized as extremely misogynistic by critics. Although the film adaptation has been restrained a lot, the shadow of misogyny and hatred can still be seen. Interestingly, the director of the film is the feminist Mary Harron.
Due to the huge controversy in the original book, Ewan McGregor, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves and other first-line male stars who had the opportunity to appear in this film all gave up for various reasons. I don't want to affect my acting career.
Christian Bale, despite the warning of "career suicide", insisted on appearing in this film, but instead won the peak of his career in the next ten years. Bell's acting skills are really superb. Near the end of the one-man show of shooting several people and confessing to a lawyer on the phone, it's almost breathless to watch.
[Bell is a foreigner in "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling" hahaha, just remembered]
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