American Psycho Ending Explained: Breaking Down The Two Most Common Interpretations
In “American Psycho,” we meet Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), an investment banker living large in New York City in the 1980s. By day, he’s a himbo — a very attractive guy who is also incredibly stupid. By night, he’s a ruthless serial killer. He murders homeless people, sex workers, and even people he knows (in the book he also murders a child at the zoo, but that didn’t make it into the film). The movie takes us through a few months in Bateman’s life as we bear witness to his vapid, bloody existence. The only glimmer of humanity from the character comes in how he reacts to his secretary Jean (Chloë Sevigny). Jean is clearly in love with Patrick, and while Patrick is incapable of love, he does end up sparing her life after coming very close to ending it (with a nail gun).
One of Bateman’s many victims is Paul Allen (Jared Leto), a coworker that Bateman loathes. Bateman murders Allen with an ax in Allen’s apartment and leaves the body there. Later, he brings other victims to the apartment, killing them and leaving their bodies there as well. As the film progresses, Bateman becomes more and more unhinged, to the point where he calls his lawyer and confesses all his crimes. Realizing his blunder, Bateman decides to return to Allen’s apartment and clean up the crime scene before it’s too late. But a curious thing happens: the apartment is not the bloody mess that Bateman left it. Instead, it’s been cleaned to perfection — and it’s currently on the market. A realtor is there, and she seems either afraid or angry at Bateman (the movie keeps it deliberately unclear; the bottom line: she does not like Bateman and she seems to know more than she’s letting on). Bateman is confused, wondering what the hell happened to all the dead bodies he left in the apartment.
Not long after this, Bateman runs into the lawyer he confessed to via phone. He tries to explain himself, but as it turns out, the lawyer doesn’t even recognize him. This is a running theme in both the movie and the book (more so in the book): no one recognizes anyone. Everyone is so stupid and so coked-up that they’re all living in a constant state of obliviousness. In addition to all that, the lawyer thinks the phone call was a prank — and he adds that Paul Allen can’t be dead because he just had lunch with him in London. Bateman is understandably confused. Meanwhile, back at Bateman’s office, Jean comes upon Bateman’s journal which is full of grisly drawings of his various victims.
