American Psycho Opening Scene Analysis
The close up of Bateman in the mirror highlight the
unnatural look of the face mask he’s wearing.
The panning that follows Bateman’s hands as he picks up
beauty products from his cabinet frame his dedication to his appearance as
excessive. The opening is critical of superficiality.
Mise-en-scene: The white colour of Bateman’s apartment
and the clean metallic surfaces of his kitchen make the sets seem eerily cold
and sterile.
Bateman’s face being reflected in a poster for Les
Miserables symbolises the melancholy he lives in and the zoom on his face
reinforces how deep his sadness runs.
The detail Bateman goes during his narration about the
contents of the various balms and scrubs he uses reveal his obsessive persona
and how deeply he cares about his appearance.
Sound: A smooth piano track plays throughout the extract,
which is fitting of Bateman’s extremely middle class lifestyle.
The soundtrack adopts a more sinister tone when Bateman
begins to pull off his face mask, becoming one sustained note. The tonal shift
is justified by Bateman’s narration, which highlights his struggle with his
lack of identity-“I simply am not there”.
Editing: Slow cutting rate makes events seem relaxed;
Bateman is simply going about his daily routine.
The match cuts between Bateman and his products in the shower,
showcase his priority in the morning, which is his appearance.
He has prevalence during the opening. The are no cuts to
other characters and he has no love-interest. He is extremely self-centred.
Genre: The insight into Bateman’s thoughts from the narration,
and the core character study driving the film, lends itself to psychological
horror.
Well done, Kurt, great first post. I will talk to the class about layout of ideas on a blog