4. Theres A Tiny Reference To The Book In The Last Scene
The ending to American Psycho is one of the films biggest talking points. Fans still discuss to this day whether the events of the movie really happened, or if theyre all just a figment of Patrick Batemans overactive imagination. This ambiguity throws the whole film on its head right at the last. Its brilliant. In all this excitement, you may well have missed a tiny nod to Brett Easton Ellis novel in the background. As Patrick sits at the table with his yuppie friends, a sign on the door behind him reading THIS IS NOT AN EXIT can be glimpsed before Patricks inner monologue kicks in to close the movie. THIS IS NOT AN EXIT are the last words of the novel, the exact meaning of which in this context is also a source of debate. Presumably, its meant as a final, defiant statement of the storys nihilist themes theres no escape for Patrick, but theres also no consequences. Theres no point to anything, and maybe Patricks story was real anyway. Including this line is a nice touch from Harron, and one of many of examples of her respect towards the source material. She kept a lot from a book, including verbatim dialogue and directly lifted scenes. She even left in the bit with the stray cat and the ATM, which takes some serious commitment.
