Christian Bale Monologues

Agents in our offices across the country are identifying every store in the United States that sold this overcoat. Then, we will cross-reference every Dillinger associate, in locales where that coat was sold. He was in a place, he got cold, he bought a coat. Unless he was traveling through, he was being harbored nearby. If he returns, we will be there. It is by such methods that our bureau will get John Dillinger.

Now Doris, would you please contact the Chicago area telephone exchange supervisors? There are six. Request appointments for Carter Baum and myself.

Gentlemen, shortly you will be provided… Thompson submachine guns, BARs, and uh, .351 Winchester semi-automatic rifles. We are pursuing hardened killers. It will be dangerous. Those of you who aren't prepared for that should go. And if you are going to go, please go now.

Sir, I take full responsibility. And I would like to make a request. That we transfer men with special qualifications to augment the staff here in Chicago. There are some former Texas and Oklahoma lawmen currently with the Bureau in Dallas.

I'm afraid our type cannot get the job done.

Our type cannot get the job done.

Our type cannot get the job done. Without qualified help, I would have to resign this appointment. Otherwise, I am leading my men to slaughter.

Goodbye, Mr. Dillinger...

No, you will not. The only way that you will leave a jail cell is when we take you out to execute you.

Soon as they call to drop the DeSoto, we'll tail it. I want men on this, around the clock.

I can feel your incriminations and your judgment, and I am fine with that. You want to be loved? Go be a movie star. The world is as you find it. You've gotta deal with that reality that there are monsters in this world. We saw 3,000 innocent people burned to death by those monsters, and yet you object when I refuse to kiss those monsters on the cheek and say "pretty please." You answer me this, what terrorist attack would you have let go forward so you wouldn't seem like a mean and nasty fella? I will not apologize for keeping your family safe. And I will not apologize for doing what needed to be done so that your loved ones could sleep peaceably at night. It has been my honor to be your servant. You chose me. And I did what you asked.

Well, George, I, uh... I'm a CEO... of a large company. And I have been Secretary of Defense... and I have been White House Chief of Staff. The Vice Presidency is a mostly symbolic job.

However, if we came to a, uh... different... understanding... I can handle the more mundane... jobs. Overseeing bureaucracy... military... energy... and, uh... foreign policy.

Has blindness usurped vision in you, my wife? No mere treaty is our union. Thou shared thy torch's flame with mine. Revealing halls and spires... of long faded empires. And now, I may hold aloft mine own fiery cresset. And make flesh our bond of power.

We, uh, have found some very interesting candidates. Um, if we could schedule a three-hour window to get through...

No. I'm CEO of a large company. I have been, uh, Secretary of Defense. I have been Chief of Staff. Uh, the vice presidency is mostly a symbolic job.

However... the vice presidency is also defined by the president. And if were to come to a, uh... different understanding...

I sense that, uh, you're a kinetic leader. You make decisions based on instinct.

Yeah, yeah. Very different. Very different from, uh, from your father in that regard. Now, maybe I can, uh, handle the more mundane jobs. Overseeing bureaucracy, managing military, uh, energy, uh, foreign policy.

One more thing. My daughter, Mary.

Now, I know you have to, uh, run against, uh, gay marriage in the South, Midwest, and, uh...

But it's my daughter, and that line is drawn in concrete.

He wants to impress his father… more than anything.

Are you like me? Huh? Was this good enough to fight Sugar Ray? Never had to win, did I? You gotta do more in there. You gotta win a title. For you, for me, for Lowell. This is your time, all right? You take it. I had my time and I blew it. You don't have to. All right? You fuckin' get out there, and use all the shit that you've been through, all that fuckin' hell, all the shit we've gone through over the fuckin' years, and you put it in that ring right now. This is yours. This is fuckin' yours.

It's not fuckin' ladylike to be shoutin' in the street like this, all right?

Who used to be the pride of Lowell? Huh?

Right here. Who's the pride of Lowell now?

Hey, Mick, you think I knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard?

I was. I was.

I ain't never been no hero, Wade. The only battle I seen, we was in retreat. My foot got shot off by one of my own men. You try telling that story to your boy. See how he he looks at you then.

William, I want you to give this back to your mother. I want you to tell her that it helped me find what was right.

I'm gonna be a day behind you, William. Unless something happens, and if it does, I need a man at the ranch to run things, protect our family, and I know that you can do that because you've become a fine man, William. You've become a fine man. You got all the best parts of me. What few there are.

And you just remember that your old man walked Ben Wade to that station when nobody else would.

You know, this whole ride... it's been egging on me. That's what the government gave me for my leg - 198 dollars 36 cents and the funny thing is that... when you think about it, which I have been lately, is they weren't paying me to walk away, they were paying me so they could walk away.

If I don't go, we gotta pack up and leave. Now I'm tired, Alice. I'm tired of watching my boys go hungry. I'm tired of the way that they look at me. I'm tired of the way that you don't.

Abracadabra.

The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything.

So... we go alone now. Both of us. Only I don't have as far to go as you. Go. You were right, I should have left him to his damn trick. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for a lot of things. I'm sorry about Sarah. I didn't mean to hurt her... I didn't. You go and live your life in full now, all right? You live for both of us.

Never show anyone. They'll beg you and they'll flatter you for the secret, but as soon as you give it up… you'll be nothing to them.

What does he need my secrets for? His trick is top-notch. He vanishes, and then he reappears instantly on the other side of the stage - mute, overweight, and unless I'm mistaken, very drunk. It's astonishing, how does he do it?

He's progressive, he's predictable, he's boring. I mean, Milton's got success, whatever that means, and now he's scared, he won't take any risks at all. I mean, he's squandering the goodwill of the audience with these tired, second-rate tricks…

Oh, you think I can live like this? You think I bloody enjoy living like this? We have a beautiful house, lovely little girl, we're married, what is so wrong with your life?

He came in to demand an answer and I told him the truth. That I have fought with myself over that night, one half of me swearing blind that I tied a simple slipknot, the other half convinced that I tied the Langford double. I can never know for sure.

Sometimes the truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded…

What were you trying to prove? That deep down, everyone's as ugly as you? You're alone!

People are dying, Alfred. What would you have me do?

Well today I found out what Batman can't do. He can't endure this. Today you get to say "I told you so."

You know that day that you once told me about, when Gotham would no longer need Batman? It's coming.

It's happening now. Harvey is that hero. He locked up half of the city's criminals, and he did it without wearing a mask. Gotham needs a hero with a face.

I live in the American Gardens Building on West 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. I'm 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial masque which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.

Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where, uh, Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. Sabrina, remove your dress. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Sabrina, why don't you, uh, dance a little. Take the lyrics to "Land of Confusion". In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. "In Too Deep" is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely up-lifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your asshole. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like "In the Air Tonight" and, uh, "Against All Odds". Sabrina, don't just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is "Sussudio", a great, great song, a personal favorite.

Howard! It's Bateman, Patrick Bateman. You're my lawyer so I think you should know I've killed a lot of people. Some escort girls in an apartment uptown… uh… some homeless people maybe five or ten. Uh… Some NYU girl I met in Central Park, I left her in a parking lot behind some donut shop, I killed Bethany, my old girlfriend, with a nailgun and… some man, some old faggot with a dog. Last week I killed another girl… with a chainsaw… I had to, she almost got away. And there… was someone else there I don't remember, maybe a model, but sh- she's dead, too. And, uh- PAUL ALLEN! I killed Paul Allen with an axe! In the face! His body is dissolving in a bathtub in Hell's Kitchen! I don't want to leave anything out here — I guess I've killed maybe… 20 people… maybe 40! Uh- huh huh-I have uh… tapes of a lot of it. Some of the girls have seen the tapes — I even… I ate some of their brains and I tried to cook a little. Tonight, I uh- just had to kill a lot of people! And I'm not sure I'm gonna get away with it… this time. I mean… I mean I guess I'm a pretty sick guy. So, if you get back tomorrow, I may show up at Harry's Bar. So, you know, keep your eyes OPEN. Okay, bye.

There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it, I have now surpassed. My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone; in fact, I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape. But 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.

I have all the characteristics of a human being: flesh, blood, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

I have to return some videotapes.

I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?

Look at that subtle off-white coloring; the tasteful thickness of it… Oh my God, it even has a watermark.

You're a fucking ugly bitch. I want to stab you to death and play around with your blood.

There is a moment of sheer panic when I realize that Paul's apartment overlooks the park… and is obviously more expensive than mine.

I'm on the verge of tears by the time we arrive at Espace, since I'm positive we won't have a decent table, but we do. The relief washes over me in an awesome wave.

New card. What do you think?