10 Great Movie Performances (That Got Better The Second Time You Watched)

6. Christian Bale - American Psycho

Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman is another character who changes completely in the audience's perception thanks to a revelation - or in this case the hint of one - that comes late on in his story. The moment we get some suggestion that he's so far out of touch with reality that he might have imagined the crimes that have come to define our journey with him, everything turns upside down.

A second viewing, again, is about investigation - about attempting to unpick what he actually did, who he killed and what was all perverse fantasy. The key is that there's absolutely no hint in there of where the line is. As the audience, you're no more aware of what is real, which makes Bale's irresistible, visceral performance all the more rewarding as you watch it again.

And even more surprisingly, after seeing how... ludicrous the ending gets, the second time you watch it, you'll begin to realise - horrifyingly - that it's the blackest of black comedies. Almost as if the part-fantasy reveal makes it ok to see the humour a lot more and you're free of questioning what the f*ck is wrong with you.