How American Psycho’s Filming Locations Helped Feed The Story’s Narrative

Are we in general agreement that Mary Harron’s adaptation of “American Psycho” is better than the original Bret Easton Ellis novel? If so, then good — while the original book does hold significance within the history of postmodern literature, the changes made to bring it to the screen fleshed out its themes more effectively.

One of these themes was that of identity, specifically how Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) struggled to keep his separate identities as a banking yuppie and a serial killer from merging together.

The increasing intermingling of these facades, as well as their individual shakiness, led to his eventual downfall.This theme exists throughout film, right down to its locations.

While “American Psycho” is set in New York City, it was actually shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

This decision allowed its themes of fractured identity to shine through.

Harron discussed this in an interview with the website and archive e-flux,

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