Living Like an American Psycho

American Psycho, a movie adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel holds within its pages some universal truths and valuable guidelines for modern living. Leaving aside his unquenchable lust for psychopathic mayhem and the occasional compulsion to feed a kitten to a teller machine, Patrick Batemen excels in many areas. Here are just a few of the things which we can learn from his decadent 80s lifestyle:

An emphasis on the maintenance and development of the body

Bateman is a perfect specimen of health and beauty. He is aware of this and yet he works hard and constantly to maintain and increase his level of excellence. Note his morning routine:

BATEMAN (V.0.) I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet, in a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now.
Bateman ties a plastic ice pack around his face.
Bateman does his morning stretching exercises in the living room wearing the ice pack.
CUT TO:
A mirror-lined bathroom. Bateman is luxuriating in the shower steam, scrubbing his body, admiring his muscles.
BATEMAN (V.O.)
After I remove the icepack, I use a deep pore-cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser, then a honey-almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub.
Bateman stands in front of a massive marble sink applying a gel facial masque.
BATEMAN (V.O.)
Then I apply an herb mint facial masque which I leave on for ten minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine.
Bateman opens the door of a mirrored cabinet, which is stocked with immaculate rows of skin care products. He begins selecting bottles jars and brushes, laying them in readiness on the marble counter.
BATEMAN (V.O.)
I always use an after-shave lotion with little or no alcohol because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm, followed by a final moisturizing "protective" lotion...
Bateman stares into the mirror. The masque has dried, giving his face a strange distorted look as if it has been wrapped in plastic. He begins slowly peeling the gel masque off his face.

Although to many this might seem excessive. Bateman gives us a sense that this is a well considered and logical progression. It has not simply been borne of response to a marketing campaign but is the result of a deep consideration of what is required to meet his goal of maintaining an optimum physical appearance.

An appreciation for fine food made with quality ingredients

Throughout the film there are countless references to the farcical pecking order expressed through the ability to achieve a booking at the most exclusive restaurants. The various dining scenes give us an insight into the excellent food which Bateman and his ilk consider acceptable. Beautifully presented and formulated of the finest ingredients these meals are spectacular and would arguably deliver a high level of nutrition. We should similarly aim to deliver to our bodies the best fuel which we can practically arrange.

WAITER
With goat cheese profiteroles and I also have an arugula Caesar salad. For entrées tonight I have a swordfish meatloaf with onion marmalade, a rare-roasted partridge breast in raspberry coulis with a sorrel timbale...
Huge white porcelain plates descend on very pale pink linen table cloths. Each of the entrees is a rectangle about four inches square and look exactly alike.
CLOSE-UP on various diners as we hear fragments of conversation. "Is that Charlie Sheen over there?" "Excuse me? I ordered cactus pear sorbet."
WAITER
And grilled free-range rabbit with herbed French fries. Our pasta tonight is a squid ravioli in a lemon grass broth...
CLOSE-UP on porcelain plates containing elaborate perpendicular desserts descending on another table.

An appreciation for the simple things

Bateman's fixation on business cards seems over the top. However the minute detail with which he is able to appreciate their beauty. The nuance and intricacy he brings to this simple thing is something which we can all learn from. In meditating upon simple things we can more completely understand our surroundings and our place in the universe.

Bateman takes out his wallet and pulls out a card.
PRICE
(Suddenly enthused)
What's that, a gram?
BATEMAN
New card. What do you think?
McDermott lifts it up and examines the lettering carefully.
McDERMOTT
Whoa. Very nice. Take a look.
He hands it to Van Patten.
BATEMAN
Picked them up from the printers yesterday
VAN PATTEN
Good coloring.
BATEMAN
That's bone. And the lettering is something called
Silian Rail.
McDERMOTT
(Envious)
Silian Rail?
VAN PATTEN
It is very cool, Bateman. But that's nothing.
He pulls a card out of his wallet and slaps it on the
table.
VAN PATTEN
Look at this.
They all lean forward to inspect it.
PRICE
That's really nice.
Bateman clenches his fists beneath the table, trying to control his anxiety.
VAN PATTEN
Eggshell with Romalian type.
(Turning to Bateman)
What do you think?
BATEMAN
(Barely able to breath, his voice a croak)
Nice.
PRICE
(Holding the card up to the light)
Jesus. This is really super. How'd a nitwit like you get so tasteful?
Bateman stares at his own card and then enviously at McDermott's.
BATEMAN (V.O.)
I can't believe that Price prefers McDermott's card to mine.
PRICE
But wait. You ain't seen nothin' yet.
He holds up his own card.
PRICE
Raised lettering, pale nimbus white...
BATEMAN
(Choking with anxiety)
Impressive. Very nice. Let's see Paul Owen's card.
Price pulls a card from an inside coat pocket and holds it up for their inspection: "PAUL OWEN, PIERCE & PIERCE, MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS." Bateman swallows, speechless.
The sound in the room dies down and all we hear is a faint heartbeat as Bateman stares at the magnificent card.
BATEMAN (V.O.)
Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark...
His hand shaking, Bateman lifts up the card and stares at it until it fills the screen.
He lets it fall. The SOUND RETURNS TO NORMAL.
CARRUTHERS Is something wrong? Patrick...you're sweating.
...
CARRUTHERS
Yes, I do. No, it's my business card-I decided to get a new one too. He pulls out something incredibly tasteful. Everyone compliments Luis except Bateman. The SOUND DROPS and all we hear is the beating of his heart as he stares at the card enviously.
Luis plucks it from his hand and walks away, pleased with himself.

Aspiring to excellence in the personal realm

Bateman has a special relationship with his personal environment. His apartment is monochromatic and beautifully designed and furnished. He has a great deal of personal pride as he sees his home as an expression as both his level of achievement and an outward expression of his taste, style and an extension of his own beauty.

INT. BATEMAN'S APARTMENT- MORNING
Tableaux of Bateman's apartment in the early morning light.
A huge white living room with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over Manhattan, decorated in expensive, minimalist high style: bleached oak floors, a huge white sofa, a large Baselitz painting (hung upside down) and much expensive electronic equipment. The room is impeccably neat, and oddly impersonal - as if it had sprung straight from the pages of a design magazine.
BATEMAN (V.0.)
My name is Patrick Bateman. I am twenty-six years old. I live in the American Garden Buildings on West Eighty-First Street, on the eleventh floor Tom Cruise lives in the penthouse.
...
When I get to Paul Allen's place, I use the keys I took from his pocket... before disposing of the body.
There is a moment of sheer panic... when I realize that Paul's apartment overlooks the park... and is obviously more expensive than mine.

We must all be conscious of our environment and aspire to live in a home which truly expresses our right inner world. In the case of Bateman his taste has more to do with conformity and status. However even in this we can tell that he has a true personal relationship with the place and that for better or worse, it suits him well.

Speaking out against intolerance, even in the presence of a strong opposing peer group

Bateman moves in circles with entrenched ideas and prejudices like any other. We receive an insight on his humanity with the following exchange. Despite an overwhelming desperation to fit in (and an obviously mixed respect for human life) he speaks out against his compatriots.

PRICE
Lucky bastard.
McDERMOTT
Lucky Jew bastard.
BATEMAN
Oh Jesus, McDermott, what does that have to do with anything?
McDERMOTT
Listen. I've seen the bastard sitting in his office on the phone with CEOs, spinning a fucking menorah. The bastard brought a Hanukkah bush into the office last December.
BATEMAN
You spin a dreidel, McDermott, not a menorah. You spin a dreidel.
McDERMOTT
Oh my God. Bateman, do you want me to fry you up some fucking potato pancakes? Some latkes?
BATEMAN
No. Just cool it with the anti-Semitic remarks.
McDERMOTT
Oh I forgot. Bateman's dating someone from the ACLU.
Price leans over and pats Bateman on the back.
PRICE
The voice of reason. The boy next door.

Here Bateman poses somewhat of a paradox as we at once gain an insight onto his own humanity (such as it is) and are delivered yet another example of the moral ambiguity of his peer group. It is for each of us to maintain a strong moral and ethical compass despite outside influences and especially to speak out in cases of flagrant intolerance.

A lucid acknowledgement of our existential and nihilistic predicament

BATEMAN (V.O.)
There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, hut there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping you and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.

This passage speaks directly from that 'inner observer' in each of us. The one that quietly watches as the wheels turn and the words and actions are formed. As such it is perfect in its way, describing a hollow sense of something missing. Who are we? Why are we here? Bateman doesn't know and who amongst us does?




Acknowledgements:

The American Psycho book and movie are the property of their respective owners. Quotations presented for research purposes only.

Script sources:
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/American-Psycho.html
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/a/amercan-psycho-script-transript-bale.html