American Psycho - A woman’s touch
How can you tell a film is directed by a woman? It gives us a montage of Christian Bale doing his skincare routine. Due to the recent, and sadly familiar, snubbing of Greta Gerwig and Lulu Wang by the Academy Awards, I wanted to revisit some of my favourite female directed films. The first being American Psycho. Directed by Mary Harron in 2000, the film’s audience has evolved repeatedly throughout its lifetime. Once a staple in many men’s top ten lists (for all the wrong reasons) with current film communities, it seems that the film is now a hit with a predominantly female audience. Why does a black comedy centred around a Wall Street tycoon turned serial killer appeal to women so much? Is it Christian Bale’s glassy skin and perfect hair? Quite possibly. However, there is a much more technical answer to this question, the female gaze. It’s a parody! Bret Easton Ellis cried when his work was removed from the shelves of book shops worldwide due to its horrific graphic description
