Maybe the Movie Gods Don’t Want Another ‘American Psycho’?
By Dread Central
4 min readLuca Guadagnino was the reason I was willing to give another American Psycho a chance. Now there’s a rumor that […]
Luca Guadagnino was the reason I was willing to give another American Psycho a chance. Now there’s a rumor that […]
Harron recalled exactly that in MovieMaker’s oral history. At Sundance, she, Bale, the editor, and others were laughing while the audience seemed unable to figure out how to respond.
“The amount of hostility at Sundance really did take me aback,” she said.
Even co-star Josh Lucas was confused by Bale’s performance during filming.
I saw it twice in theaters and thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. Hearing these stories always made me feel good about getting it right off the bat.
Film snob here.
The original earned approximately $35 million worldwide on an $8 million production budget, before building the enduring cult following it has today. Our 2005 DVD review already said it plainly: “I can’t imagine anyone else playing Psycho protagonist Patrick Bateman other than Bale.”
Twenty-one years later, that’s still the problem. In my eyes, nobody is topping that performance. Whoever takes the role has to recreate Bateman in a genuinely different way, or they’re just copying Bale. It feels like a losing battle before the actor even gets started.
Guadagnino was what made me curious enough to look past that. His Suspiria proved to me that you could take a classic, completely reinvent it, and make something worth watching on its own terms. I was a huge fan. I might even like it more than Dario Argento’s original.
I know. Bastard take. I love them both, so whatever.
That was why I could trust the process with American Psycho and see what unfolded. If Guadagnino really has left, a lot of that enthusiasm leaves with him. I’m back to scrutinizing the whole thing, and I’m not even sure how they get it made at this point.
My concern is that, after enough false starts, somebody decides to force it through just to get it done. Rush something this sensitive, with a performance this difficult to follow, and it can blow up in your face.
To Lionsgate’s credit, the studio seems to have exercised restraint. I’d much rather see them take their time trying to get it right than rush a new Patrick Bateman into theaters. Maybe the movie gods just prefer Bale’s version and would like us to leave it alone.
I’m perfectly fine never getting another American Psycho adaptation in my lifetime. If we do get one, I just want the right people making it.
