The Meaning and subtext of the 'American Psycho'
'The American Psycho' is a film about a New York investment banking executive, who hides his psychopathic and violent fantasies from his co-workers, as he dives deeper into them, however he understands that his murderous acts are wrong, and throughout the film we learn many things about the main character, such as his persistent jealousy of the smallest little things that may be the trigger for his violent acts, such as needing to have the best looking business card, to him being someone who longs to fit into society, rather than being the outsider that he is, who can't seem to stop his urge of hurting people in the most gruesome ways, and I will explain this later on. I found the film to be a film full of hidden meanings and subtext through color, lighting, mise-en-scene, sound, cinematography and editing. Many of which portray a deeper meaning and understanding of what the film is trying to communicate with the audience.
Starting with sound, one of the most important parts of the whole film was when the main character played a song named 'Hip to be square' while murdering Paul Allen, the lyrics of the song speaks on how it's hip to fit into society and be like everyone else, it speaks to the whole theme of the film, as Bateman begins to continuously direct and explain the song to Paul before axing him. Bateman's constant explanation of the meaning and lyrics could perhaps be his normal side talking, however his jealousy and resentment towards Paul Allen took over the more he discussed the music, and with Paul having always been 'a little different' this could be perhaps what triggered him.
When it came to mise-en-scene, there were many subtle meanings behind some of his wordings and actions. For example in the 'morning routine' scene, it started off showing a clean looking luxurious home, instantly deceiving the audience to his actual character, as what were seeing is very much in the realm of normality, as well as his routine of being clean himself, showering, as well as using several creams and masks. The instance where he puts on an ice pack mask and the facial mask, indicated to me that it was the hiding of his true self. The end of the scene was him peeling off the mask as he glares into the distance, almost as if to indicate he is revealing his true identity, or it could even mean that he is still trying to figure out who he really is, and doesn't yet have a true identity, which again speaks to the films overall theme. Bateman would also reference several times to how he 'Just wants to fit in' this could indicate a mental battle he's going through, knowing that what he's doing is wrong, but can't help his actions.
For the films editing, in many of the murder scenes (specifically the murdering of Paul Allen scene) there are several cuts to close up shots that shows something of importance in almost every cut, from the prescribed medication to indicate to the audience that he's obviously mentally unstable, to the placing of the axe on the floor creating suspense, to the music CD, to both of their reactions constantly cutting back and forth using crosscutting to gauge both characters reactions. This intensified the situation and gave the feel of urgency and anxiousness for the viewer.
The cinematography played a major role in the films narrative, in the 'Business card scene' There were many panning movements to both the left and right showing the co-workers of Bateman and how they all had a similar look, from the slicked back hair to the glasses and to the suits. This indicates perhaps the lose of identity in the 1980's. It can be confusing to gauge throughout the film weather or not Bateman wants to truly 'fit in' like he says or if he really just wants to be different, in this instance the slow panning and zooms to his reactions tell the audience of his frustrations of having no real identity, especially when Paul Allen confuses him with another one of his co-workers. When Paul does confuse him with a co-worker, when can see the camera tilting upwards, putting Paul Allen in a position of power over the seated Bateman. When Bateman murders Paul Allen in the previously discussed scene, it was Paul who was seated and Bateman who was standing, with the camera tilted towards him, indicating then he now is the one in control. When all the co-workers begin to show off their business cards, we can clearly see the frustration on Batemans face with the close up shots and slow zooms, telling the audience that even the smallest of things triggers his inner anger, which is why he is considered very unstable.
For lighting and colour, I found that the 'chainsaw' scene had several elements of horror and suspense by using a low contrast of light, they were able to play around with many shadows that gave us the viewers a sense of evil. As bateman emerged from the hallway of his apartment running naked carrying a chainsaw, we see him in darkness and coming into the light as he runs closer. This could perhaps indicate a turning point in the film where his several actions have finally caused him to understand his true identity, and he's no longer a shadow of himself that's lost in self exploration.
References:
BASTIÉN, A. J. (2016, June 7). The Female Gaze of ‘American Psycho’: How Mary Harron Made Fantasy Into Timeless Satire. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from https://www.villagevoice.com/2016/06/07/the-female-gaze-of-american-psycho-how-mary-harron-made-fantasy-into-timeless-satire/
Clips, M. (2012, March 12). Hip to be Square - American Psycho (3/12) Movie CLIP (2000) HD. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruw9fsh3PNY&feature=youtu.be
Clips, M. (2012, March 5). Morning Routine - American Psycho (1/12) Movie CLIP (2000) HD. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjKNbfA64EE&feature=youtu.be
Curro, A. (2009, March 28). American Psycho -Business Card Scene. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cISYzA36-ZY&t=5s
I. (2015, February 12). American Psycho - Chainsaw Chase. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHYQlt_ddKE&feature=youtu.be