10 Best Movies Where The Protagonist Learns Nothing

5. American Psycho

Christian Bale gives a searing performance as murderous, psychopathic investment banker Patrick Bateman (Patrick Bateman) in this daring adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, and though Bateman certainly goes through a lot over the course of the film, it's ultimately all for nothing.

Bateman of course starts the film as a sociopath whose mask of normalcy just barely clings to his face, before his murderous tendencies take over and he eventually has a full-on psychological break.

The film ends with Bateman appearing to record a confession to his lawyer, but as he himself puts it, "Even after admitting this, there is no catharsis. My punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper knowledge of myself. No new knowledge can be extracted from my telling. This confession has meant nothing."

This is especially true when you consider the ambiguous nature of the third act and how neither the audience nor Bateman is exactly sure of what's real and what's fabricated in his mind. There is no clarity nor satisfactory epiphany for Bateman or the viewer.