A rather confused film half about the madness of achievement, half about the life of a maniac. Its lucidity and half-heartedness do not allow it to become really interesting. Above all, the film casts doubt on the utopia of striving for success. Is it not the desire for success, and this is the only way a person should live? But getting on this path and succeeding, a person goes crazy. He won, can he afford everything? What is "everything"? For example, he can book a table at a restaurant that has an elite queue for years to come. And the restaurant can take some unthinkable dish, whose description sounds pretentious and somehow questionable, and it can look so. Not an impressive achievement. In addition, the reacher exists in the circle of the same masters of life, who must go out of their way to maintain the level: wear the best suit, the best shoes, the best watches. Plus, always pretending to be something. It's like Pelevin in Generation. Success makes a person vulnerable. If suddenly the same cretin has a tie for a dollar more expensive, and the apartment with windows goes outside better - our winner will be crushed. He is no longer a winner, but a loser. The business card scene is one of the best in the film. Heroes are morally crushed at the sight of the fact that someone has a business card made of better paper and the font on it is better. Although these are just little distinguishable from each other white pieces of paper with letters, the inscriptions on which no one cares.
The second half of the film is watching how from life among the already crazy achievers, the hero begins to kill more and more. And from the beginning and the further, the more his murders look unrealistic. The final twist is pretty quick to guess, but the movie doesn't spoil it. Unfortunately, the authors are not sure what they want to show. If the black satire on the world of financiers, like in "The Wolf of Wall Street," you should add more humor. What got into the movie in the end is quite sleepy. “The Wolf of Wall Street” worked, but “American Psychopath” didn’t. I'm sorry, there was potential. If you wanted a thriller, you should focus on conflict, like running away from the police.
It is clear why the film failed at the box office, but became popular later. The book made a lot of noise, and in Hollywood it is customary to film it faster. If there is recognition, they will come to the film. But with “American Psycho” did not work, because of the confusion and emptiness of the interaction of the characters. However, the film is specific and on the verge of absurdity, which later attracted connoisseurs. Christian Bale in the film demonstrates an impressive range of acting and draws all the attention. But that's not enough. The film disappointed.