American Psycho: Identity, Psychosis, and 1980s Excess

Introduction to the Film and Its Setting

American Psycho is a film written and directed by Mary Harron, adapted from the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. The film presents the lifestyle of a typical young and prosperous Wall Street broker who is defined by his meticulous approach to clothing, dining, and music. At its core, the movie is a social interpretation of the extremes of 1980s American culture.

The central character is a man who believes in living life entirely on his own terms. He dines at the finest restaurants in the city, wears the most expensive clothes, and maintains a rigidly curated way of living. Working as a Vice President at Pierce and Pierce, he is regarded as one of the company's most disciplined executives. As Patrick Bateman continues to enjoy his routine life — socializing with his fiancée and other female acquaintances — his existence is suddenly disrupted by the disappearance of a rival, Paul Allen, and the subsequent direction of a detective's investigation toward Patrick himself.

The images and environment used to represent 1980s New York consist mainly of skyscrapers and nighttime skylines. To further anchor the film in its era, music of the period is featured prominently, including records by Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, and Information Society. Costume and interior design also reflect the decade's aesthetic. A scene in which Ronald Reagan delivers a live television speech further confirms the historical setting.

Theme: Obsession, Psychosis, and Social Critique

The story of American Psycho is built around the obsession of its narrator. Throughout the film, the narrator — who is also the main character — gradually reveals the depth of his psychosis. At one point, he admits directly: "I think my mask of sanity is about to slip" (Cinephiles).

The film portrays the corrupt practices of a society that permits, or even encourages, individuals like Patrick to exercise acts of cruelty. In the majority of its scenes, the film weaves in a thread of dark humor, which effectively contrasts the one-dimensional world of such characters and underscores the worthlessness of their existence.

The film is a portrait of a protagonist who belongs to the New York of the 1980s. Understanding the film's genre and evaluating the focus of its story requires recognizing how various elements portray New York City of that era as a capital of excess. Because the film is narrated by its main character, it is equally important to understand how its different elements are integrated to elevate the character's lack of identity to the level of psychosis.

Several additional images help viewers understand the story's setting and the narrator's point of view. Dance club scenes filled with music and vivid colors offer a heightened sense of allure. These images echo the glamorization of violence found in many television shows and films of the period, and they create an atmosphere of stylized artificiality. Throughout the film, violence and suspense are persistent undercurrents. In one scene, for instance, Patrick is shown using drugs with a male companion in a restroom, then approaches a bartender and demands a drink in an insulting manner, even threatening to kill her.

The atmosphere of the film is one of shallowness, materialism, and arrogance. Scenes showing Patrick and his friends making last-minute reservations at prestigious restaurants, or Patrick dining with his fiancée at an upscale venue, reinforce this world. At one point, Patrick lies to his companion about the name of the restaurant they are dining at, apparently to impress her.

Characters and the Culture of Materialism

Most characters in the film are portrayed as self-absorbed and trivial individuals. Patrick's friends and peers are affluent and project an image of a luxurious lifestyle. The women associated with Patrick are shown socializing at parties or traveling in expensive cars. One memorable scene in which Patrick compares business cards with his male colleagues encapsulates the competitive vanity of this social circle. The moment reveals the lengths to which these characters will go to outdo one another, and the ultimate insignificance of that effort.

Interestingly, the female characters are not portrayed as competitive with each other in the same way. At several points in the film, viewers get the impression that Evelyn — Patrick's fiancée — is aware of his affair with her best friend yet chooses to remain outside any conflict. She appears to recognize Patrick's untrustworthiness and deliberately avoids confrontation. Several scenes suggest a broader strategy of non-competition among the women in the film.

As one analysis of the film notes:

"Other scenes echo this same notion of no competition/no conflict and even suggest an idea of harmony between female characters. These include the sex scenes where Patrick hires two prostitutes for a ménage-à-trois, or when he asks his friend Elizabeth and prostitute Christie to have sex with each other. Yet since in the first scene Patrick pays the prostitutes to perform, and in the other he secretly pours a drug into both women's drinks, one may argue that female compliance, as well as a sense of 'harmony' between the female characters, is not genuine. Still, the latter scene seems to offer a momentary lapse of endearment: in the background, Patrick plays and critiques Whitney Houston's 'The Greatest Love of All' while Elizabeth and Christie transmit a sense of relaxation with their caresses — the only caresses of the entire film — and their laughter. Due to the staginess of the situation and to the viewer's knowledge of Patrick Bateman's tendencies, however, the scene satirizes this moment of false pleasantry and effectively maintains a high degree of suspense." (Cinephiles)

Patrick Bateman is portrayed as a young urban professional who belongs to a group of superficial individuals, yet his personality is shown to differ from theirs in key respects. In a number of scenes, he is shown carefully attending to his body and health through exercise and skincare routines. These scenes represent the duality between his external presentation and his internal condition. The film establishes his psychosis clearly through voice-over narration, which he uses to articulate both his personality and his mental distortion. In one scene, he draws the restaurant's steel menu toward him and attempts to see his own face reflected in it — distorted and vague. In another, a young woman at a massage parlor tells him: "What beautiful skin you have; so fine, so smooth." He responds: "I have all the characteristics of a human: flesh, bones and blood, but not a single idea or emotion" (Cinephiles). Such moments reinforce the impression that Patrick lacks any stable sense of self, yet remains acutely aware of his own psychological distortion. His character is clearly that of a man leading a double life — polished on the outside, profoundly hollowed out within.