I haven't seen the film
American Psycho, I've just read
Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same title, so all comments
concern the book.
My take on this is that Ellis attempts a comedy of sorts, a satire
about the emptiness of a Wall Street yuppy's life.
This may seem outlandish when one considers the main character
Bateman's campaign of misogynistic butchery, probably
the most-remarked upon feature of the book.
But I think this is what is intended.
For example, it is impossible to find a non-humourous
reading of Bateman's homage to the artistry of Phil Collins.
Ellis strongly implies to us throughout
that Bateman in fact imagines these brutal murders; they are
just fantasies fuelled by his designer-drug taking.
In reality his life is concerned with most trivial ephemera, like getting
a table at the latest fancy restaurant, endlessly flossing his teeth.
It's also barely credible that he could get away with so many murders,
particularly as he is fairly disorganized. We cannot
really believe that his faithful cleaner
washes away the evidence after each bloodbath without question.
Bateman even confesses at one point but suffers no consequences.
The question then becomes: does this interpretation get Ellis off the hook
for the queasy voyeuristic violence against women of the novel? I would
say no, the fact that it is intended as something of a joke
makes the book even more disturbing.
Although reading this nasty book was thought-provoking afterwards I really wished
that I hadn't. I gave my copy away as I didn't want to keep it
in the house. If you are still considering it I suggest looking
at the earlier work The rules of attraction. Ellis' apparent
misanthropy
is already detectable, but at least we are spared
the stomach-churning violence.