American Psycho Analysis

Based on the controversial novel by Bret Easton Ellis, Mary Harron's American Psycho received polarizing responses when it first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2000. Some moviegoers and critics were turned off by the film's graphic violence and dark humor. However, in recent years the film has gained a cult following. American Psycho is now noted for its satirical look at the yuppie culture of the 1980s and materialism.

American Psycho is set in the late 1980s and told from the point of view of Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale, who also serves as a narrator). Bateman is a 27 year old successful and wealthy investment banker living in Manhattan. He spends most of his time engaged with other shallow people in the Wall Street elite or meeting his fiancee's equally shallow friends. He has a standard morning routine of doing stomach crunches, using specific scrubs in the shower, applying an herb-mint facial mask, as well as using an aftershave with little or no alcohol because "alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older". Bateman is very concerned with his physical appearance.

He's also a serial killer.

American Psycho does not simply engage in gratuitous violence. Instead, it uses violence as a way to make a point about yuppie American culture. The term "yuppie" refers to an individual with a high-paying job and an affluent lifestyle. It is typically used to describe rich people who are not modest about their financial status.

Almost every character in American Psycho is portrayed as a self centered, snobby person. I refrain from using the word "individual" because the characters hardly qualify as individuals. Bateman's friends barely know each other and they barely know themselves. In fact, one of the most notable parts of the film is how the characters constantly mix each other up. Early on in the film, a co-worker, Paul Allen, mistakes Bateman for another co-worker named Marcus Halberstram. Bateman makes no attempt to correct this and simply goes along with it. He mentions numerous similarities between the two men such as how they do the exact same job, have a penchant for Valentino suits, Oliver Peoples glasses, and even go to the same barber (Bateman insists that he has a better haircut). This leads into one of the most famous scenes in the film, the business card scene. The men all show off their business cards. The business cards are nearly identical to everybody but the yuppies themselves. Everybody is vice president and has the same phone number. Everybody at the firm thinks of themselves as the coolest guy in the room, but in reality they are all interchangeable and ultimately insignificant.

Everybody in the yuppie society is extremely selfish. They are portrayed as superficial people who only care about things that involve them. Bateman actually makes little effort to hide his apparently sadistic nature. He says several threatening and disturbing things out loud in the film, including "I'm into murders and executions mostly" and "I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?" These comments are always either ignored or misinterpreted. The yuppies are so focused on themselves that they fail to see what's right in front of them. They fail to comprehend that Bateman is a psychopath because it has no direct effect on them. In another scene, Bateman brutally kills a co-worker at his apartment, then drags him outside in plain view in a giant overnight bag. An acquaintance sees Bateman put the very heavy bag into his trunk and his only question is "Where did you get that overnight bag?"

Bateman himself isn't much better. A cold-blooded narcissist, Bateman is obsessed with himself and his appearance. Even while with two prostitutes, he decides to admire himself in the mirror rather than paying them any mind. Bateman frequently ignores his equally superficial future wife, referring to her as his "supposed fiancee". In another scene with his fiancee, he is concerned they won't be able to find a "good table" at a restaurant, in spite of the tables not having any clear differences. Most notably, as mentioned before, insignificant business cards are a big deal to him. He is quickly bothered when his card receives less compliments than the others. When he sees Paul Allen's card, which is apparently the superior card, his face seems to be in a trance, showing a mix of both creepy admiration and envy, despite the card having very little difference to his own.

"Look at the subtle off-white coloring, the tasteful thickness of it. My god, it even has a watermark."

At the end of the film, things switch gears and become increasingly surreal. Bateman attempts to push a stray cat into an ATM machine because the ATM machine flashed a message telling him to. Then he shoots a random bystander and engages in a shootout with the police that ends with their car being inexplicably blown up. Even Bateman's face shows confusion when this happens. He finally calls up his lawyer and confesses to several heinous murders. However, the next day, nobody acts like anything happened. He also discovers that the apartment of Allen, the co-worker he supposedly murdered is completely vacant and up for sale. When Bateman tries to confess to murdering Allen to another co-worker, the co-worker takes it as a joke, claiming that it's not possible as he was having dinner with Allen just 10 days ago.

The ending has led to some people interpreting the killings as only occurring in Bateman's imagination. The idea is that Bateman lives in a world so self-centered that a man will pretend to be a serial killer to get attention from others (as mentioned before, he repeatedly makes grotesque comments) but that still won't grab anybody's interest. The other interpretation, as mentioned earlier, is that the murders are real and the film is commenting on the fact that the yuppie culture is so narcissistic that they can't see what's right in front of their eyes. The novel and the film both intentionally leave this answer ambiguous.

Is American Psycho a biting satire of yuppie culture or a psychological study of a deranged mind? In a lot of ways, it could be seen as both. The film remains popular to this day with many praising the performance of Christian Bale and the direction of Mary Harron. The popularity has remained due to the multi-faceted plot and room for interpretation. Theories continue 14 years after its theatrical release because it's more than just a slasher film. It makes audiences think. It makes them think about the society that they live in and how they live their lives. It's as much a character study as it is a thriller, and that's what people like about it.

In Bruges Analysis

When you watch the trailer for the 2008 film In Bruges, it looks like a Guy Ritchie style gangster comedy. Instead, viewers got a complex dark comedy that looks at morality, judgement, and guilt.

At the beginning of the film, we meet two Irish hit men, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson). They are walking in the city of Bruges ("It's in Belgium"). The city is quickly noted for its weird, medieval appearance. It's a small area and few people have even heard of it. It's the perfect place to disappear.

Ken and Ray react to Bruges in different ways. Ken, being the older, wiser one, is endlessly intrigued by the city's beauty. He wants to see the buildings and learn about the city's history. Ray is the exact opposite. He finds the city boring, empty and meaningless. It soon becomes clear that Ray and Ken have little, if anything, in common.

It is quickly revealed that Ray and Ken are waiting on orders from their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes). They were sent to Bruges in the first place because Ray accidentally killed a young altar boy while trying to assassinate a priest (who is implied to have done something illegal) as his first job as a hit man. Their job is to stay in Bruges, keep a low profile and wait until Harry calls them for further instructions.

In Bruges is almost strangely optimistic in its portray of its 3 main characters. Despite being criminals, none of them are truly bad people. Perhaps they aren't "good" people, but they're too complex to simply call bad or evil. Ray is tortured by his inability to make things right and is very fixated on the idea of committing suicide due to his extreme guilt. He knows what he did was wrong and makes no attempt to justify it or rationalize it. He's also noted for childlike behavior (both Ken and Harry repeatedly refer to him as "the boy") which may be related to the grieving process of the young altar boy. Ken is portrayed as a generally decent and empathetic guy. He mentions that he feels bad for the people he's killed for Harry, even though most of them weren't exactly nice people. He also tries to save Ray's life. It's eventually hinted at that the only reason he's a hitman is because he owes a debt to Harry, who apparently avenged the death of Ken's wife prior to the events of the film. Harry initially appears to be an unpleasant guy as we quickly see he's foul mouthed and short tempered. However, we also discover that Harry believes that everyone has to take responsibility for their actions and that actions have consequences. For example, he says that if he had killed a child like Ray did, accidentally or not, that he would commit suicide on the spot. Harry also goes to great lengths to ensure that no innocent civilians are killed when he tries to kill Ray, such as not trying to shoot Ray in a room with a pregnant woman. Harry's morals may be seen as black and white, but he still has morals regardless.

In Bruges has what could be the most sympathetic portrayal of a child killer in the history of film. His sympathy connects to the theme of guilt and the effect it has on the guilty person. As mentioned above, Ray is sympathetic not only because the killing was accidental but because he doesn't attempt to rationalize his actions. Instead, Ray spends the entire film dealing with an extreme state of depression. The guilt of what happens seems to never truly leave his mind, even on the occasions where he seems to be focusing on other things. For example (see the image below), right before he's about to go on a date he looks at himself in the mirror and suddenly frowns, almost as if he feels that he doesn't deserve to have a fun night because of what he did.

The concept of redemption is discussed repeatedly. Ray initially doesn't believe he can redeem himself because no matter what he does, the boy is still dead. He later comes to the conclusion that the best way to make things right is to find the mother of the little boy he killed and apologize to her. She can decide what happens to him thereafter. Ken believes that Ray still has the ability to redeem himself, telling Ray that although he killed that little boy, "he can save the next one". In Ken's eyes, the boy will be dead no matter what so Ray should do something good with his life to redeem himself. Harry is the exact opposite. Harry doesn't believe redemption exists. Anybody who kills a child, even himself, should be killed instantly. The film doesn't straight out tell the audience that redemption exists, but the film does spend a lot of time with Ray to make him a sympathetic character and portrays him as a generally decent person, despite Harry's insistence that Ray should die because he did a bad thing.

In the last third of the movie, Harry and Ken spend a lengthy amount of time debating whether Ray should live or die. Meanwhile, Ray is none the wiser. The city of Bruges itself is like a purgatory. Ken is an angel hoping to save Ray. Harry is like the Grim Reaper who wants to punish a man for his sins. Ray is stuck in Bruges waiting for his fate to be decided. He discusses the concept of Purgatory early in the film, saying “Purgatory’s kind of like the in-betweeny one. You weren’t really s**t, but you weren't all that great either." Characters can't seem to decide whether Bruges is a "fairy tale" or a "s**thole". Maybe it's a little bit of both, and not really either at the same time. It's purgatory, meant for the morally ambiguous, which makes it an ideal place for the 3 main characters to be in.

Despite a limited release in February 2008, In Bruges has gone on to gain a cult following. Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe for his performance, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay, and the film has an 8.0 rating on IMDb, which is very respectable by their standards. Thanks to its natural blending of dark comedy and drama, and its sophisticated approach to its themes, In Bruges remains a memorable film 6 years after its release.

Casablanca Analysis

First premiering on November 22, 1942, Casablanca is now considered to be one of the greatest Hollywood films of all time. Set during World War II, it tells the story of American Expatriate Rick Blaine as he must choose between either being with Ilsa, the woman who he loves, or helping her Czech Resistance leader husband escape the city of Casablanca and continue to fight against the Nazis. Released nearly a year after the US joined World War II, the film is notable for its social commentary and symbolism.

Casablanca's overall rating on the review site Rotten Tomatoes remains high to this day

Rick Blaine could in many ways be seen as a metaphor for the United States foreign policy of the era. Rick prides himself on neutrality. People around him are fighting and he openly states his intentions to not get involved and to mind his own business. However, it's shown that Rick is not quite as neutral as he says he is. He ran guns to Ethiopia and fought on the loyalist side of the Spanish Civil War. He also chooses to help a Bulgarian couple win enough money to go to America. Similar to Rick, the United States was officially neutral but leaned towards the Allies, doing things such as supplying Britain, the Soviet Union, and China with war material through Lend-Lease, as well as deploying the US military to replace the British invasion forces in Iceland in July 1941.

The romance between Rick and Ilsa is one of the most famous romances in movie history and plays a role in Rick's sympathy towards the Allies.

Another example of Rick's not so neutral position is shown in the beginning of the film when Ugarte appears in Rick's cafe boasting the possession of "letters of transit" as the result of murdering two German couriers. Although Rick is hesitant at first, he agrees to house the letters, knowing the amount of risk he would be placed into, yet aware of the impact the letters could have on a refugee's life. Similar to the United States, Rick doesn't want to be involved but is unable to avoid his sympathetic leanings toward the allies. America's isolationist policies are portrayed as being morally questionable at best while Rick's choice to help people and intervene is portrayed in a positive light. Some might argue that Rick's cafe itself symbolizes America as a country while Rick symbolizes American policies. Refugees from all over the world wait there while trying to make it to the United States. It's a safe haven for those who wish to get away from the vicious war as soon as possible.

                                

Dooley Wilson as Sam, playing the very important piano

Besides the cafe itself, the film is also notable for Sam, the piano player at the cafe, or more specifically, the piano itself. Sam is the one character without any apparent character flaws and numerous people go to the cafe to see him play the piano. The piano symbolizes general moral decency. In a world plagued by a massive war, people find peace in seeing Sam play the piano because it's so elegant and peaceful. The inability to stay neutral is largely related to the idea of general moral decency. The piano is an escape for many people, but it is also proven to have the ability to bring people together. The most famous example is when the German soldiers begin playing the national anthem on the piano only for the rest of the bar patrons to begin singing "La Marseillaise" in a brave act of defiance.


As Casablanca was released while World War II was still very much alive, it was noted for how politically relevant it was. While U.S. foreign policy has certainly changed, it still deals with pertinent themes of interventionism and sacrifice, and provides 21st century viewers a look at life in the early 1940s. The emotional script and engaging performances also add to the entertainment value that continues to this day.