There are people who really like this movie. Good for them. I have only one thing to say to people who really like this thing: please stay far, far away from me.
I want to make myself quite clear here, and leave no room for misunderstanding. I like villain protagonists. I like black comedy. I like satire, and I know what satire is. You can say I don't understand this movie, that I don't appreciate its depths or its subtleties, and I'm sure the many fans of this thing will say just that. You just don't get it, man.
I get it. Satire has to make us think about the thing being satirized, to see the issues in a new way. This movie's one, flickering brain cell is simply incapable of doing satire. Black comedy should make us laugh, at some point. A film with no actual jokes is not a comedy. It's not even a bad comedy, since even that would have jokes that fail, but this has none at all.
Most of all, a film with a villain protagonist has to realize that he is, in fact, a villain, and not a role model. This movie has been compared to American Psycho, and that comparison is actually useful, because that movie understands that Patrick Bateman is a broken, pathetic human being. He's interesting, otherwise the film wouldn't work, but he's not someone we're expected to actively root for. This movie reads like bad American Psycho fan fiction, written by someone who really identified with Patrick Bateman and thought he was just peachy. We're clearly expected to want Nicholas Hoult's character to win out, and cheer when he does. Again, if you do find anything remotely redeeming about this smug, hateful, smarmy twit, that's great. I hope I never meet you.
The point of view of this putrid little film, as far as I can see, is to say that the music industry sucks, people suck, the world sucks, and only hateful, morally bankrupt scum win out in the end. It's the sort of world view that seems incredibly profound when you're 16 or so, and incredibly stupid when you become a grown-up. This film is adolescent in outlook, and the fact that it was apparently made by adults is incredibly depressing.
I want to make myself quite clear here, and leave no room for misunderstanding. I like villain protagonists. I like black comedy. I like satire, and I know what satire is. You can say I don't understand this movie, that I don't appreciate its depths or its subtleties, and I'm sure the many fans of this thing will say just that. You just don't get it, man.
I get it. Satire has to make us think about the thing being satirized, to see the issues in a new way. This movie's one, flickering brain cell is simply incapable of doing satire. Black comedy should make us laugh, at some point. A film with no actual jokes is not a comedy. It's not even a bad comedy, since even that would have jokes that fail, but this has none at all.
Most of all, a film with a villain protagonist has to realize that he is, in fact, a villain, and not a role model. This movie has been compared to American Psycho, and that comparison is actually useful, because that movie understands that Patrick Bateman is a broken, pathetic human being. He's interesting, otherwise the film wouldn't work, but he's not someone we're expected to actively root for. This movie reads like bad American Psycho fan fiction, written by someone who really identified with Patrick Bateman and thought he was just peachy. We're clearly expected to want Nicholas Hoult's character to win out, and cheer when he does. Again, if you do find anything remotely redeeming about this smug, hateful, smarmy twit, that's great. I hope I never meet you.
The point of view of this putrid little film, as far as I can see, is to say that the music industry sucks, people suck, the world sucks, and only hateful, morally bankrupt scum win out in the end. It's the sort of world view that seems incredibly profound when you're 16 or so, and incredibly stupid when you become a grown-up. This film is adolescent in outlook, and the fact that it was apparently made by adults is incredibly depressing.