American Psycho Details

Director Mary Harron fought tooth and nail for Christian Bale to play Bret Easton Ellis's smooth yuppie killer (Leonardo DiCaprio was the studio's choice), and her decision is totally vindicated in this dark comedy drama. Bale is brilliant, boasting a flawless American accent and an impressively sculptured physique as the wealthy, successful and psychotic Patrick Bateman. Despite the novel's skin-crawling reputation, most of the violence takes place off-screen. Moreover, the film's satirical swipes at the materialistic 1980s provide laughs amid the carnage, as does Bale's cheesy, game-show host delivery of Bateman's eccentric cultural observations. Aside from a graphic threesome, this is an admirably restrained adaptation, although its cold, aloof tone somehow lessens the impact of Bateman's actions.

A deft, elegant portrait of a self-obsessed, fashionable, design-conscious man descending into psychosis as a result of his obsessions.