Cherry Darling (JennifairyW)

Linda: "Do people like you Alex?"
Alex: "Not much, no."
Linda: "I'm not surprised. It's because those glasses don't look right on your face."

"Jesus God almighty look at that bunch over there man!"

"Jesus God almighty look at that bunch over there man!"

"There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable... I simply am not there."

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When I first watched this I had no idea what to expect, but, I ended up loving it! I think people either view this movie as a masterpiece (maybe a flawed masterpiece) or a disappointment, but I think it's plausible that the majority of those people were misled by the title to believe this was another typical Hollywoodized slasher movie, when in truth, Harron avoided the mold with more of an intelligent, sardonic look into the lifestyles and behaviors of the stereotypical 80's yuppie. Although it has enough blood, violence and disturbing scenes to class as a technical 'horror', it's much more satirical and thought-provoking than it's made out to be. To me its frequent twisted humour was hysterical, from Bateman's straight to the point lines that nobody seems to hear "I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?", to feeding a kitty to an ATM, those who have seen it will understand that I'm not actually sordid. Bateman is a raging narcissist, a solipsist with an empty soul who values objects and clothes over his own existence and anybody else's for that matter, empathy is absent. He is incredibly articulate, obsessively tidy and has a pedantic hyperanalysis of everything, Phil Collins anyone? But it's not particularly surprising giving his mind-numbingly superficial environment where his 'friends' and colleagues share a mutual one upmanship, and everything from physical appearance to dinner reservations are a status symbol. To escape this prosaic existence Bateman attempts to find some meaning in a manner so drastically adverse to his depthless reality, with murder and mutilation (to name a few). Bale delivers this performance flawlessly, embodying every aspect of Bateman (physically and emotionally) perfectly, his purposely fake radio DJ voice, his mannerisms and facial expressions. He plays it slightly tongue in cheek and yet still manages to seem cool, alluring and chillingly detached. Even if you don't like the film, you can't deny an outstanding performance. I have to admit that the make up really caught my attention, which never usually happens unless it's blatantly obvious like hobbits, zombies or werewolves. Bateman's flawless complexion at times begins to resemble that of a waxwork figure making him seem artificial, an inanimate object, just like the things he values most. In times of stress, panic and jealousy we see this complexion become glossy as he starts to sweat and his metaphorical 'mask' begins to slip, while comparing business cards for example. Another visual which is used effectively (I thought) was the set design, take the monotonous yuppie apartments, big, spacious, and cold, echoing the empty, hollow lives of the people who inhabit them. At the end of the movie I was left, like the majority of people, wondering what was the truth. I have two theories, firstly, the much debated, was it all just whimsies of a bored yuppie? And secondly, are his victims truly dead, but because all yuppies looked the same, sounded the same, were so unidentifiable and unmemorable, that they will never be missed? lives of soulless entities are interchangeable after all. I'm open to suggestions. The film, much like the book, is misunderstood, both being scrutinized for their flaws with negative reviews across the board, but I find these 'flaws' nugatory. I think it was brave and pretty clever of Harron to take this often misunderstood piece of literature which has been widely accused of misogyny and tell it from a female perspective. If you have a narrow vision of what this is supposed to be, you're not going to appreciate it, but at the very least, you'll never listen to Phil Collins the same again. Huey Lewis and the News.......do you like them? "There is a moment of sheer panic when I realize that Paul's apartment overlooks the park... and is obviously more expensive than mine."