American Psycho Director Left Baffled By 'Bro' Worship For Patrick Bateman In ‘Very Gay’ Film

Christian Bale in American PsychoAmerican Psycho director Mary Harron has said she finds it bizarre to witness “Wall Street bros” idolising Christian Bale’s character, considering the film is “very clearly” poking fun at them. While marking the 25th anniversary of the satirical slasher in a conversation with Letterboxd Journal, Harron said she’s questioned whether she “failed” in her making the film after seeing men openly praise Patrick Bateman – a cocky New York investment banker by day and serial killer by night – on social media.“I’m always so mystified by it,” she explained. “I don’t think that [co-writer Guinevere Turner] and I ever expected it to be embraced by Wall Street bros, at all. That was not our intention. So, did we fail?” She continued: “I’m not sure why [it happened], because Christian’s very clearly making fun of them.”The Canadian film director also finds it ironic that Bateman is so beloved by “sigma males” on the internet. The 2000 film is an adaptation of the satirical novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, which the filmmakers saw as “a gay man’s satire”. “[Ellis’] being gay allowed him to see the homoerotic rituals among these alpha males, which is also true in sports, and it’s true in Wall Street, and all these things where men are prizing their extreme competition and their ‘elevating their prowess’ kind of thing,” Harron said.She also claimed: “There’s something very, very gay about the way they’re fetishising looks and the gym.”Mary Harron in May 2019Harron pointed to a moment in the original book that she wishes could’ve been included in the final version of the film, in which Bateman thinks to himself that his co-worker McDermott (Josh Lucas) appears “puffy”. “There was a reversal of alpha male culture, which was more like the culture of teenage girls,” she explained.“It was about insecurity and vanity and competition and the way they gossip. The way they talk about each other is like teenage girls in a locker room at school.”The filmmaker told Letterboxd Journal she attributes some of the internet’s misplaced reverence for Bateman in recent years to the birth of memes and (in her words) “TikTok, or whatever”, noting there’s appeal in the character “being handsome and wearing good suits and having money and power”. “But at the same time, he’s played as somebody dorky and ridiculous. When he’s in a nightclub and he’s trying to speak to somebody about hip-hop — it’s so embarrassing when he’s trying to be cool,” she added.Elsewhere in the interview, Harron compared the 25-year-old film, which is set in the Reagan era, to “what we have in the White House” today.American Psycho is “about a predatory society,” she said, adding: “The rich are much richer, the poor are poorer. I would never have imagined that there would be a celebration of racism and white supremacy, which is basically what we have in the White House. I would never have imagined that we would live through that.”Read the full interview on Letterboxd here.MORE FILM NEWS:Home Alone 2 Director Reveals How He Feels About Donald Trump's Cameo More Than 30 Years LaterHere's Why Pride And Prejudice's 2005 UK Ending Was So Different To The US'Demi Moore Shares Her Honest Reaction To Losing The Oscar To Mikey Madison

Comments

Breaking news

Starving child forced to eat ceiling paint and cat food in harrowing neglect case

Moscow rejects Trump's peace plan and Kyiv calls Putin's three-day ceasefire pledge 'a trick' as Russia pounds Ukraine with 100 drones

about 2 hours ago

Comments

Similar News

The Americans Fled Vietnam 50 Years Ago. I Visited the Buildings They Left Behind.

The President's First 100 Days Is a Return to American Greatness | Opinion

Pritzker: Trump Has 'Taken Us Off the Rails,' He 'Lied to the American People'

Meghan reveals Archie and Lilibet's classic British trait despite their all-American upbringing in California

I'm American living in the UK - this typical British behaviour was really hard to get used to

Asian American veterans share emotional stories 50 years after Vietnam War

Colombia's Gustavo Petro Proposes South American Empire After Explosive Drug Allegations

Dershowitz: 'Harvard Cannot Use Academic Freedom as an Excuse and a Justification for Teaching Anti-Americanism, Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism'

'Focused on American Jobs:' IBM Announces $150 Billion Investment in U.S. Manufacturing

DOGE's Control of SSA Data Could Harm Millions of Americans: Report

Civil rights leaders alarmed after bible and other artifacts are removed from Smithsonian African-American museum

American tourist who trespassed on killer uncontacted tribe's island freed on bail... but there's a big catch

Driver's Licenses Could Change for Millions of Americans

Report into Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines crash reveals fatal mistakes before collision

Millions View Photo That 'American Mind Cannot Comprehend'

Trump unmasks American selfishness, say cynics

Is the age of American air superiority coming to an end?

Family speaks out after Air Force veteran, 62, was ‘left to die by American Airlines crew who allowed entire plane to deboard before he got help’

Meghan shares sweet video of Princess Lilibet’s American accent for first time

American Children Sent to Honduras, and A.I. on the Battlefield

Breaking news

Starving child forced to eat ceiling paint and cat food in harrowing neglect case

Letters: The BBC in England understands the value of soaps. Why can't BBC Scotland?

Grangemouth refinery ceases processing crude oil

Highland housing provider expands into Skye for first time

All the theories over what caused unprecedented power outage in Spain and Portugal

Woman in her 30s killed in skydiving accident in County Durham

Skye’s the limit for endangered corncrakes thanks to crofting boost

Indian restaurant chain to open new spot on busy Glasgow square

Man charged in connection with the death of man in Kilmarnock

Prison officer, 23, ‘had sexual relationships with two inmates at the same time’

Poland finally abolishes its last archaic ‘anti-LGBT’ zone

‘Mushroom killer’ has attempted murder charges against ex-husband dropped

Bristol explosion: House almost completely destroyed in huge blast

School bans students from wearing jumpers and parents whinge ‘it makes no sense’

Full list of drinks that could go up in price with expansion of sugar tax

Girl, six, dies after being hit by a Range Rover in Rochdale

UK looking at ‘different challenges’, minister says after Spanish power cut

Benidorm turned into ghost town in Spain power outage

Disgraced cardinal formally withdraws from participation in conclave

EU's top court rules against Malta's 'golden passport' program

Two new crocodile species discovered in Caribbean – but they are already facing extinction

Primark says it is not raising prices despite tax and wage cost hikes

Doctors condemn Supreme Court ruling on trans women as ‘scientifically illiterate’

Cheers erupt in Spanish streets at moment power restored after mass outages

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens makes the case for reelection

Chinese astronauts' return to earth delayed owing to weather

A loyal base with cracks in it: 100 days in, what do Trump voters think now?

Flood the zone: Trump’s shock and awe game plan to revolutionize America – and keep his enemies on the back foot

100 days in, can Trump run again in 2028? We ask an expert | Debunked

‘Wow! Everything’s computer!’: The most eyebrow-raising moments of Trump 2.0... so far

Over 200 lawsuits, 142 executive orders, and 24 days golfing: Trump’s first 100 days by the numbers

Grocery price inflation jumps to highest in over a year, figures show

National Express owner announces boss’s departure and deeper losses

Richard Branson says opening of first Virgin hotel in London ‘really special’

Michelle Obama reveals biggest fear of Trump’s second term

Four dead including four year-old after car crashes into Illinois daycare center

Dewars Gym proving more popular than when facilities were at Bell's Sports Centre

Two million more visits to Perth High Street from April to December 2024

Huge blaze breaks out at recycling centre as crews battle flames overnight

Drivers in Shotts warned of temporary road closure and restrictions on roads

Scottish Greens to stand in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election

Maggie Chapman clings on to job thanks to SNP votes after stinging attack on Supreme Court

Is Fortnite down as Matchmaking server issues hit Epic Games battle royale

Panic-buying sweeps Spain and Portugal 'like Covid 2020' as supermarket shelves cleared

Woman suspected of killing three people with toxic mushrooms goes on trial

When are the May bank holidays in Scotland as mini heatwave set to start?

Hoover's 'absolutely brilliant' cordless vacuum is cheaper than Amazon and Shark with 56% off

Woman dies in skydiving incident

Shoppers 'obsessed' with £13 retinol serum that 'smooths deep wrinkles' in two months

Households urged to sprinkle 75p kitchen staple in garden to keep 3 pests away

Boots slashes 'luxurious' £30 cream that 'visibly reduces dark spots' to £10

Teen driver's chilling warning on Snapchat before 'showing off' ended with three pals dead

New driving laws mean certain drivers could face fines of £550 in matter of days

'Clinically proven' cholesterol-fixing tablets reduced to £10 at Boots

Durham skydiving tragedy as woman in 30s dies in horror fall at farm

Dietitian shares truth about meal replacement drinks and weight loss

Bank holiday changes as Boxing Day moves and extra days are added