Marcus Halberstram (played by Anthony Lemke in the film) has left the United States after being implicated in the still unexplained disappearance of Paul Owen (Paul Owen is called Paul Allen in the film where he is played by Jared Leto). Interestingly enough, in the corresponding scene in the novel, the narrative switches from 1st person present to 3rd person present mid-sentence (p. 341) at the beginning of the sequence, and then back to 1st person present (again mid-sentence) at the end (p. 352). What work do you do? Up to his old tricks, Bateman leaves Elizabeth hanging while he goes in search of a prostitute this is just what he did to Courtney the first time he hired Christie. Elizabeth is clearly only interested in Bateman for his money, arguing with him that a restaurant even favored by the idyllic Wall Street man, Donald Trump, wasnt good enough. The owner of the store asked her to leave, which she refused to do, so the police were called, and Baxter was warned that if she didn't stop, she would be arrested for trespassing. here] The second scene involves an ATM machine requesting that Bateman feed it a stray cat. Over the years, this has built up into a myth that Lewis objected to the use of his song when he saw the film, and demanded that it not be included on the soundtrack. or listening to Kenny G on his Walkman; on his dates; during his exercise regime to perfect a lean sculpted body; the occasional murder he commits; his facials; dining out with colleagues; watching horror and porn videos; and constantly looking at himself in mirrors (even during sex), which of course, reveals nothing, and the movie - presented in gleaming wide-screen - is a visual representation of his mindset: sleek, cold, airless, a world where everything is ultimately about style. The issue of mistaken identity comes up time and again in the film; it is why Paul Allen refers to McDermott as Baxter and Bateman as Halberstram, it is why Stephen Hughes thought he saw Paul Allen in London, it is why Halberstram thought he was with Bateman the night Allen was murdered. For example, in a scene between Bateman and Evelyn, she asks him if they can go out the following night, and he replies that he can't because he's got to work, to which Evelyn says, "You practically own that damn company. Later on, Patrick asks her to have sex with him again. The three of them end up on the couch, beginning to have sex. Here, money and sex are interchangeable in a certain kind of way of looking at the 80s, in which money was the erotic object, it was the source of eroticism in the 80s.American Psycho: From Book to Screen (2005)] How could Paul Allen's apartment have been empty when Bateman returned to clean it up? "I ate some of their brains, and I tried to cook a little. This theory is supported by the novel, where it is strongly implied that Wolfe knows about the murders and realizes that Bateman is involved (p. 369).This interpretation is best explained by actress/co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner on her DVD commentary;To me, the more disturbing part about this scene is that here's this real estate agent who really doesn't give a fuck what happened in this apartment and knows damn well what kind of state it was in. Wolfe, or the company she works for, could have decided that after a period of time during which no rent had been paid, and nobody had been able to contact Allen (because he is dead), it was time to check things out. "C: "Because I had dinner with Paul Allen twice in London, just ten days ago. Patrick Bateman : Well, I work on Wall Street. This is also seen among his colleagues as well. For instance, the book shows how the excesses of the 1980s were manifested in warped relations, not only between men and women but also among men. "B: "Hm. Paul Allen is on the other side of the room over there." None of them care that he has just confessed to being a serial killer because it just doesn't matter; they have more important things to worry about. Trying to feed the cat into the ATM is sort of a giveaway. Like Boxing Helena (1993), there's just a lot of stuff like that. Later, Elizabeth (played by Guinevere Turner in the film) tells him, "I don't have to work, Bateman. "In the novel Bateman kills a young child at the zoo, to see if he would like it or not. (The production designer Gideon Ponte, deserves special mention for the awesome, glamorous sterility of Bateman's bachelor pad.) The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. At the apartment, they have a threesome before Patrick verbally abuses them with sadism. Low rated: 2. He also argued that the film worked as a thematic companion piece to Harron's previous film, I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), a film about Valerie Solanas, who tried to shoot Andy Warhol in 1968, likening Bateman to Solanas. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. This is completely ignored in the film, the cannibalism is only briefly referenced, in the scene where Bateman confesses to his lawyer all his actions in which he says. The film starred Christian Baleas Patrick Bateman, a filthy rich investment banking executive who dives deeper and deeper into his psychotic homicidal fantasies as the film goes on. [official site archived here] | He is involved in only one violent incident during the period documented (from March 15th, 2000 to April 17th, 2000); he breaks the jaw and crushes the trachea of a beggar who tries to mug him at an ATM.Various characters from the film/novel are also mentioned. Also he gets angered when David Van Patten pulls his card out and everyone else likes it better than his. These are: Patrick crossing his arms during the jump-rope scene, and Patrick doing a moonwalk to hide his ax before killing Paul Allen. Killer looks. It's clean." Where was he? A Stephen Hughes said he saw him at a restaurant there, but I checked it out and what happened is he mistook a Herbert Ainsworth for Paul. The ATM speaking to Bateman certainly indicates that things have taken a more hallucinatory turn. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. Edit, There is no official relationship whatsoever. How can Harold Carnes have had lunch with Paul Allen in London when Allen is already dead? Bateman's seats are better, therefore, he has "won" the unspoken contest between them, and his superiority is something to be celebrated.Regarding the film, the filmmakers themselves have offered various theories as to what the true meaning may be, and a good way to engage with the possibilities as to meaning is to look at what some of them have said about their own interpretations of the work, as well as the interpretations of critics and scholars. Elizabeth is oblivious to her surroundings, having no idea that Christie is a prostitute and assuming that she can just call to purchase drugs whenever shed like. Earlier in the night, he had left Elizabeth at a bar to go pick . We talk on the phone all the time. What does Bateman do to Christie and Sabrina after the first threesome? I would much prefer to see him skinned alive, a rat put up his rectum, and his genitals cut off and fried in a frying pan, in front of - not only a live audience - but a video camera as well. "B: "But has anyone seen him in London? Bateman also reveals that he still does the occasional line of coke and is still taking Xanax. This kind of thinking simply doesn't enter into the equation in their society; a society of excess, greed, self-absorption and isolation.This theme is perhaps more obvious in the novel. I awaken only when one of them touches my wrist accidentally. Though Christie is reluctant to see Bateman again after being so badly beaten during their previous encounter, he knows that flaunting his money and using alcohol to cloud her judgment will get him just what he wants. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. In their first meeting, Kimball tells Bateman that someone called Stephen Hughes thought he saw Paul Allen in London, but it turned out it was a person called Herbert Ainsworth;Bateman: "Do you have any witnesses or fingerprints? In his apartment he owns original work by Andy Warhol, Damien Hurst, Donald Baechlor, Fernand Lger, Pablo Picasso, Balthus, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler. Similarly, George Corsillo, who had designed the jackets for Ellis' previous work, turned down the American Psycho job, citing "creative differences. His personal trainer also trains the New York Giants, Oscar De La Hoya and Cirque du Soleil. Anti Social Personality Disorder, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.Anti Social Personality Disorder also known as Sociopathy is a mental illness in which a person has a complete disregard for others, and have no remorse or emotion toward others. "People wanna get caught": Bateman meets Kimball by chance in a nightclub and Kimball tells him that in casual situations, people often reveal things about themselves even though they don't realize they are doing it. Kimball has asked the real Halberstram about it, and he denied being with Allen that night (which is true, as Bateman was with Allen). This is a highly unusual narrative technique, suggestive of a sizable shift in consciousness and focalization, and an altogether different narrative perspective. Source: www.thisisguernsey.com. She has made a movie that is really a parable of today. I should have left it more open ended. And whilst that is a perfectly valid interpretation, as Harron indicates above, it is not entirely what the filmmakers were attempting to achieve. But the most important thing he says is that there's no catharsis, and that's what we come to expect conventionally from character and character development; they come to this point and they're changed forever, they are no longer the person that we met, but the disturbing thing about this story, and the way we intended it is that we start just where we left off. None of the characters in the film would stop to think for a moment that perhaps someone may not be wearing an expensive suit because they don't want to. By extension then, presumably, none of the murders are real - Bateman is simply insane and he imagines himself committing unspeakable acts when in fact he is doing no harm to anyone. (p. 107). Patrick's jaw tightens] Christie : You have a really nice place here, Paul. Ellis also appeared on an episode of Charlie Rose (1991), along with Christian Bale and co-screenwriter/director Mary Harron, where he said he liked the film very much, and felt it improved on the novel in certain aspects; "the film clarified the themes of the novel. The vapid society they have created is a place where no one has any real interaction with anyone else; they all talk to one another, they all hear one another, but they don't listen to one another. For example, in the opening scene of the novel, A guy who looks a lot like Luis Carruthers waves over at Timothy and when Timothy doesn't return the wave the guy - slicked-back hair, suspenders, horn rimmed glasses - realizes it's not who he thought it was and looks back at his copy of USA Today. As outlined above, the society depicted in the film is one of no real interpersonal relationships, no empathy, a society made up of people who care only about themselves and their own ability to accrue massive amounts of wealth and materialistic trophies; the richer you are the better you are. "C: "It's just not. All I wanted was to be ambiguous in the way that the book was. Throughout the book we hear of his countless sick and demented actions of him cooking his victims flesh, and having sexual intercourse with his victims bodies, and various body parts. Bateman, appearing very disturbed and confused, begins to leave, and when Wolfe tells him not to come back, he assures her that he has no intention of doing so.As with the Carnes conversation and the issue of Bateman's outbursts, there are two main theories on this scene. Clearly, this is preparation for what is to come. The scene of his breakdown is taken directly from the novel, where Price runs down into an abandoned railway tunnel. And that's very disturbing. (including. Upon examining the apartment, they would find evidence of murder and torture (of Elizabeth and Christie), and rather than call the police, which would seriously devalue a prime piece of real estate, they quietly clean things up themselves and remove Allen's possessions. Bateman, bored by his lavish date with Courtney, has ditched her to go pick up a prostitute. And I always tell them, in our minds it really happened. Bateman orders "Christie" and Sabrina around, instructing them to go down on each other and stimulate one another to climax. De Reveney then begins to purchase shares from Davis, and the only way Ferguson can stop him is by revealing his own interests in the company, thus exposing the illegality of his operation. The client had roasted chicken, and neither Bateman nor Carruthers can understand the fact that the dinner came with no sauces or accessories. Christian Bale ad-libbed a number of moments and scenes throughout the filming of American Psycho, and two of these improvisations ended up in the final cut. Everybody has a great body." These are the major differences between the film and it's source material. It's easy to believe that because the character is a misogynist, the story is too. Perhaps the fact that Bateman is well-dressed and appears confident, in control, leads people to disregard his threats.Similarly, at various points in the novel, Bateman makes comparable statements which are completely disregarded. In the novel Timothy Bryce and Paul Allen have mildly different surnames. I don't want any of what your drama is anywhere near me making money, and we have painted over everything. As to how this will be handled in the upcoming adaptation of Lunar Park remains to be seen. Here, the desire to make money overrides all sense of moral decency and responsibility - Wolfe doesn't care what happened in the apartment as long as she can sell it, and if that means covering up what happened, so be it. I can't make myself any clearer. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Halberstram then tells Kimball that he was at a club called Atlantis with Craig McDermott, Frederick Dibble, Harry Newman, George Butler and Bateman himself (which is inaccurate, insofar as Bateman was killing Paul Allen when Halberstram was at Atlantis). Additionally, Penguin, who had published paperback editions of Ellis' previous novels, decided to follow suit and they too chose not to publish American Psycho. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. It is usually categorized and diagnosed by a set of behaviors. I killed Paul Allen, and I liked it. )In his review of the film, Ellis particularly praised the work of production designer Gideon Ponte, actor Christian Bale and director Mary Harron. because even he is starting to believe that his perception of reality cannot be right. It is clear he does have a mental illness, and is delusional. Edit, The character of Patrick Bateman is quite interesting in how he could be diagnosed mentally. When the American Psycho: Music From The Controversial Motion Picture was initially released, it included all the songs heard in the film. And he's right back where he started; he' sitting in the same bar with the same stupid friends talking about what they're going to eat and what they're going to drink, and it's just like, this guy is out there, and there's lots of other guys like him. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Interestingly enough, in 1998, it was Steinem who allegedly talked Leonardo DiCaprio out of playing Bateman, arguing that he would alienate his entire fanbase by appearing in the film.