629 reviews
A strong mood piece, but not for everyone
There are many good things about The Machinist that are well deserving of praise. The very atmospheric nature of the film is supported very strongly by excellent performances all around. Christian Bale takes things to the extreme in his embodiment of his character. It is hard to take seeing him in his near-starvation body mass, which elevates the tension of this piece even further. The storyline leaves a little to be desired. While it creates its mood excellently, it does tend to plod along a little too much.
One thing that does stand out is how reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock this film plays. Almost everything about the film screams Hitchcock, from the editing of certain scenes (the driving sequences are very much in the style of Psycho) to the Bernard Herrmann-esquire score (lots of bass clarinet), the lack of fully-exploring/revealing some of the creepier points of the film (what is dripping from the fridge?), and the washed out, grainy photography. If you want to see what a film would look like if Hitchcock were alive to film it today, this is the closest thing you could probably come across. And if that was part of Brad Anderson's intention in directing this, I have to commend him on the execution because it is uncanny.
Overall, I would recommend this film, but not to casual movie-goers. This is very much a movie-phile experience for those who appreciate character development and cinematography as much as plot points and a storyline that can be defined and followed from one action to the next. In that way it is closer to films like Magnolia or the Others, where the apex is the characters. If you are looking for a typical popcorn Hollywood thriller, this is not what you are looking for.
One thing that does stand out is how reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock this film plays. Almost everything about the film screams Hitchcock, from the editing of certain scenes (the driving sequences are very much in the style of Psycho) to the Bernard Herrmann-esquire score (lots of bass clarinet), the lack of fully-exploring/revealing some of the creepier points of the film (what is dripping from the fridge?), and the washed out, grainy photography. If you want to see what a film would look like if Hitchcock were alive to film it today, this is the closest thing you could probably come across. And if that was part of Brad Anderson's intention in directing this, I have to commend him on the execution because it is uncanny.
Overall, I would recommend this film, but not to casual movie-goers. This is very much a movie-phile experience for those who appreciate character development and cinematography as much as plot points and a storyline that can be defined and followed from one action to the next. In that way it is closer to films like Magnolia or the Others, where the apex is the characters. If you are looking for a typical popcorn Hollywood thriller, this is not what you are looking for.
A grower
- Superunknovvn
- Apr 16, 2005
- Permalink
Dostoyevsky and The Machinist
I really enjoyed this film. It reminded me of 21 Grams, Jacob's Ladder and Memento. Perhaps the finale left a few questions unanswered or felt a little anti-climactic but an amazing performance by Christian Bale. Haunted, brave, vulnerable, murderous but also very moving. A film which stays with you.
Now, here's an eggheaded thing, but did anyone notice the constant stream of Dostoyevsky references in the movie? Not only did Resnick (remind anyone of Raskolnikov?) put down a copy of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot at one point but the whole movie owed a lot to Notes From The Underground, Crime And Punishment and The Double. Did anyone spot the sign in the Ghost Train sequence which read Crime And Punishment? Or that Sharian's character is called Ivan (cf The Brothers Karamazov - especially the chapter Ivan's Dream)? Jennifer Jason Leigh's character is very familiar from Dostoyevsky, as was the saintly Maria.
Its a cracking film and none of these references are indispensable to enjoying it but I thought I would point it out.
Now, here's an eggheaded thing, but did anyone notice the constant stream of Dostoyevsky references in the movie? Not only did Resnick (remind anyone of Raskolnikov?) put down a copy of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot at one point but the whole movie owed a lot to Notes From The Underground, Crime And Punishment and The Double. Did anyone spot the sign in the Ghost Train sequence which read Crime And Punishment? Or that Sharian's character is called Ivan (cf The Brothers Karamazov - especially the chapter Ivan's Dream)? Jennifer Jason Leigh's character is very familiar from Dostoyevsky, as was the saintly Maria.
Its a cracking film and none of these references are indispensable to enjoying it but I thought I would point it out.
- Peggypegstor
- Mar 24, 2005
- Permalink
Interesting
- Antagonisten
- Nov 20, 2004
- Permalink
A Dark and Somber Maze of Altered Reality
darkly atmospheric horror/mystery
Trever Reznick is an industrial machine operator who hasn't slept in a year and feels as if he is going crazy. A horrible accident in the workplace causes him to fall further down the spiral. Is there a conspiracy against him or is he going insane? The lead character is played with discomforting perfection by a repulsively thin and unrecognizable Christian Bale. This is a very moody and atmospheric film that is reminiscent of Lynch (though, by the end, it is a much more spelled-out than Lynch would do for the viewer). Still, it is a very gripping and disturbing movie. "The Machinist" is one of the better horror films released this year. My Rating: 8.5/10
- ThrownMuse
- Dec 14, 2004
- Permalink
Moody and atmospheric, but ultimately predictable
- michaeljharvey
- Sep 26, 2008
- Permalink
One of the greatest films ever, a must watch
- michaelwoods-11911
- May 15, 2019
- Permalink
A Nutshell Review: The Machinist
- DICK STEEL
- Feb 9, 2005
- Permalink
Great thriller mystery
The Machinist is an instant classic.
A riveting descent into madness with Christian Bale bringing his A game. Bale wastes himself away to 120 lbs of a haunting and creepy shell of a man both visually disturbing and compelling. The story ambles along laden with foreshadowing and clues keeping the viewer involved in the mystery.
Not much needs to be said except "Brilliant." Well constructed and nuanced atmospheric film that will be viewed 50 years from now and not lose anything; maybe only to be elevated as an example of filmmaking at its best.
It's easy to draw a parallel to Hitchcock; but maybe it is closer to the truth that The Machinist is a movie that he would have evolved to make if he had lived longer. Hitchcock would have been fascinated by Bale and his extreme dedication to his craft. My imagination takes me away to a place where Hitchcock has just finished watching The Machinist and feels just a small pang of envy...followed by an immediate call to Bale's agent for casting in his next movie. If wishes were horses...
A riveting descent into madness with Christian Bale bringing his A game. Bale wastes himself away to 120 lbs of a haunting and creepy shell of a man both visually disturbing and compelling. The story ambles along laden with foreshadowing and clues keeping the viewer involved in the mystery.
Not much needs to be said except "Brilliant." Well constructed and nuanced atmospheric film that will be viewed 50 years from now and not lose anything; maybe only to be elevated as an example of filmmaking at its best.
It's easy to draw a parallel to Hitchcock; but maybe it is closer to the truth that The Machinist is a movie that he would have evolved to make if he had lived longer. Hitchcock would have been fascinated by Bale and his extreme dedication to his craft. My imagination takes me away to a place where Hitchcock has just finished watching The Machinist and feels just a small pang of envy...followed by an immediate call to Bale's agent for casting in his next movie. If wishes were horses...
I'm Still Waiting
I really wanted to like The Machinist. As this film and his previous effort, Session 9, show, Brad Anderson is one of the best visual stylists working in film today, able to conjure up a dank, eerie, foreboding atmosphere from a budget that would not pay for David Fincher's lunch. He has a great compositional sense, is not afraid to be leisurely, and has a refreshingly uncluttered approach to mis-en-scene. Yet The Machinist, like Session 9, ultimately disappoints. I think there are two reasons for this.
The first is that, absent the conceit of Christian Bale's astonishing transformation, there is very little reason for this film to exist. The Machinist is a character study of a character who has, yes, very little weight. Despite Bale's best efforts, Trevor Reznick is a blank, a cypher, unpleasant and uninteresting. Although the film abounds in Hitchcock references, Anderson, screenwriter Scott Kosar, and Bale fail to assimilate the master's most important lesson: that the film's weirdo should be its most sympathetic and likable character. Anthony Perkins was cast as Norman Bates because of his image as the sweet, sensitive boy next door; Christian Bale, a prodigiously talented, but chilly and distant actor was, most assuredly, not.
As a character, Resnick lacks progression; because he is skeletal and bonkers from the beginning, there is no sense of horror as he is (quite literally) consumed by his own guilt. For this to work, some kind of contrast with normality is needed - the audience must witness a sensitive, precious soul slowly destroyed because of one small dreadful mistake. But Resnick is no Prince Myshkin. Rather, his guilt seems to be the only interesting thing in his otherwise dim, uncomprehending existence. The guilt gives his tedious life drama, meaning, and coherence. The film's final revelation should have been a shattering emotional climax; instead, it is the excuse for Resnick to take a much needed nap.
The second reason for The Machinist's failure is that Anderson seems to have trouble abandoning himself to his chosen genre. His direction of The Machinist, and of Session 9 as well, is detached, clinical, unengaged. There is no sense of love, or of passion, in what he is doing. Anderson seems drawn to horror, tempted by the opportunity it offers him to show what he can do with a camera, but he seems afraid to commit, to give himself over. It's as if he is too good, too cultured, too intelligent, too rational, for this kind of film. Yet he keeps coming back, as his next assignment, a remake of George Romero's The Crazies, shows.
There is no singular vision in Anderson's horror films, as there is in the work of Cronenberg, for example. There is no exuberant celebration of style, as there is in Argento's or DePalma's best works. Nor does there seem to be any political agenda, as there is in Romero's films. But despite the relative failure of Session 9 and The Machinist, I think there is something in Anderson, unformed and embryonic, waiting to burst forth, if only he can let go. He is a late talent, a grower not a shower. I don't think it will be seen in The Crazies, but I'm still waiting.
The first is that, absent the conceit of Christian Bale's astonishing transformation, there is very little reason for this film to exist. The Machinist is a character study of a character who has, yes, very little weight. Despite Bale's best efforts, Trevor Reznick is a blank, a cypher, unpleasant and uninteresting. Although the film abounds in Hitchcock references, Anderson, screenwriter Scott Kosar, and Bale fail to assimilate the master's most important lesson: that the film's weirdo should be its most sympathetic and likable character. Anthony Perkins was cast as Norman Bates because of his image as the sweet, sensitive boy next door; Christian Bale, a prodigiously talented, but chilly and distant actor was, most assuredly, not.
As a character, Resnick lacks progression; because he is skeletal and bonkers from the beginning, there is no sense of horror as he is (quite literally) consumed by his own guilt. For this to work, some kind of contrast with normality is needed - the audience must witness a sensitive, precious soul slowly destroyed because of one small dreadful mistake. But Resnick is no Prince Myshkin. Rather, his guilt seems to be the only interesting thing in his otherwise dim, uncomprehending existence. The guilt gives his tedious life drama, meaning, and coherence. The film's final revelation should have been a shattering emotional climax; instead, it is the excuse for Resnick to take a much needed nap.
The second reason for The Machinist's failure is that Anderson seems to have trouble abandoning himself to his chosen genre. His direction of The Machinist, and of Session 9 as well, is detached, clinical, unengaged. There is no sense of love, or of passion, in what he is doing. Anderson seems drawn to horror, tempted by the opportunity it offers him to show what he can do with a camera, but he seems afraid to commit, to give himself over. It's as if he is too good, too cultured, too intelligent, too rational, for this kind of film. Yet he keeps coming back, as his next assignment, a remake of George Romero's The Crazies, shows.
There is no singular vision in Anderson's horror films, as there is in the work of Cronenberg, for example. There is no exuberant celebration of style, as there is in Argento's or DePalma's best works. Nor does there seem to be any political agenda, as there is in Romero's films. But despite the relative failure of Session 9 and The Machinist, I think there is something in Anderson, unformed and embryonic, waiting to burst forth, if only he can let go. He is a late talent, a grower not a shower. I don't think it will be seen in The Crazies, but I'm still waiting.
The modern reincarnation of a Greek tragedy
Astounding film with tension , blood , shocks and violence
A factory worker called Trevor (Christian Bale) fatigued of insomnia receives estrange and indecipherable post-it notes that seem a bizarre riddle and going on odds events are happening . He hasn't slept for one year and suffers hallucinations , risking lives of industrial co-operators (Michael Ironside), causing injuries and amputations . Psychopathic , haunting visions by Trevor and his madness embroils two women , a prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a mother (Aitana Sanchez Gijon) , increasingly , besides , with a co-worker (John Sharian) who nobody have ever seen . He tries to resolve which believes to be a scheme against him and a mysterious rout 666 leads to the final enigma .
The film contains mystery , violence , suspense in dark atmosphere with imposing tension and intrigue . The thin (exclusively for the film) Christian Bale makes a top-notch performance similarly to supporting cast who is frankly good . The producers of the film claim that Christian Bale dropped from about 173 pounds in weight down to about 110 pounds in weight to make this film and he regained it for Batman . Bale plays magnificently psycho and gloomy characters (as in Shaft , American psycho and even Batman) . The film was well shot in Catalunia (Spain) though to be just like whatever American city . Xavi Gimenez cinematography is excellent , creating a frightening and scary atmosphere , he's expert on sombre photography (Fragile, Intact, Nameless) . Mesmerizing and intriguing music by Roque Baños (Crimen Ferfecto , 88 bullets). The motion picture was nicely directed by Brad Anderson (Session 9) , although with little movement and brief action. Rating : Good and above average , it's one the highest earning suspense picture of the last years.
The film contains mystery , violence , suspense in dark atmosphere with imposing tension and intrigue . The thin (exclusively for the film) Christian Bale makes a top-notch performance similarly to supporting cast who is frankly good . The producers of the film claim that Christian Bale dropped from about 173 pounds in weight down to about 110 pounds in weight to make this film and he regained it for Batman . Bale plays magnificently psycho and gloomy characters (as in Shaft , American psycho and even Batman) . The film was well shot in Catalunia (Spain) though to be just like whatever American city . Xavi Gimenez cinematography is excellent , creating a frightening and scary atmosphere , he's expert on sombre photography (Fragile, Intact, Nameless) . Mesmerizing and intriguing music by Roque Baños (Crimen Ferfecto , 88 bullets). The motion picture was nicely directed by Brad Anderson (Session 9) , although with little movement and brief action. Rating : Good and above average , it's one the highest earning suspense picture of the last years.
What was the point of making this movie?
An urban nightmare with an incredible performance by Christian Bale
THE MACHINIST (Brad Anderson - Spain 2004).
Christian Bale is Trevor Reznik, a machinist in an anonymous factory somewhere in America. He is obviously scarred by some past incident but what is it? He finds mysterious notes on his refrigerator, saying 'who are you?' He sees colleagues that don't exist. He seems to have lost it completely.
A Spanish production, but with Brad Anderson at the helm as director and an almost exclusively American cast, this is basically an American film. I must admit, I kept shelving this one, due to reasons I cannot really recall now I've finally watched it, but it probably had something to do with Christian Bale's insane weight loss and all the surrounding publicity. I assumed the film was all about Bale's loss of weight and not much more. A method boy in a film solely hyped for an actor's dedication to play the part, but the film blew me away, as simple as that. Christian Bale gives a solo turn here almost unseen before. No matter how many pounds he lost, it's a remarkable performance.
Director Brad Anderson succeeds brilliantly in conceiving an atmosphere that is so compelling, as one other user on the IMDb stated, 'You just HAVE to know what the hell is going on here.' I think that's the key factor in what makes this film so incredibly compelling. The whole setting is an anonymous industrial town somewhere in the US, that could be Pennsylvania, Michigan or upstate New York (actually, it was shot near Barcelona), but it doesn't really matter where the story is located. It's the atmosphere of estrangement that does it. And Christian Bale gives such an intense performance you really want to know his cause and background. Where on earth does he come from? We know he works in a greasy factory, but why is he skin-over-bone? Why hasn't he slept in over a year? Brad Anderson creates an atmosphere so broody and sleazy, it's like a netherworld, an urban nightmare. In a certain way it reminded me of the strange urban landscape in "Eraserhead" by David Lynch.
Camera Obscura --- 9/10
Christian Bale is Trevor Reznik, a machinist in an anonymous factory somewhere in America. He is obviously scarred by some past incident but what is it? He finds mysterious notes on his refrigerator, saying 'who are you?' He sees colleagues that don't exist. He seems to have lost it completely.
A Spanish production, but with Brad Anderson at the helm as director and an almost exclusively American cast, this is basically an American film. I must admit, I kept shelving this one, due to reasons I cannot really recall now I've finally watched it, but it probably had something to do with Christian Bale's insane weight loss and all the surrounding publicity. I assumed the film was all about Bale's loss of weight and not much more. A method boy in a film solely hyped for an actor's dedication to play the part, but the film blew me away, as simple as that. Christian Bale gives a solo turn here almost unseen before. No matter how many pounds he lost, it's a remarkable performance.
Director Brad Anderson succeeds brilliantly in conceiving an atmosphere that is so compelling, as one other user on the IMDb stated, 'You just HAVE to know what the hell is going on here.' I think that's the key factor in what makes this film so incredibly compelling. The whole setting is an anonymous industrial town somewhere in the US, that could be Pennsylvania, Michigan or upstate New York (actually, it was shot near Barcelona), but it doesn't really matter where the story is located. It's the atmosphere of estrangement that does it. And Christian Bale gives such an intense performance you really want to know his cause and background. Where on earth does he come from? We know he works in a greasy factory, but why is he skin-over-bone? Why hasn't he slept in over a year? Brad Anderson creates an atmosphere so broody and sleazy, it's like a netherworld, an urban nightmare. In a certain way it reminded me of the strange urban landscape in "Eraserhead" by David Lynch.
Camera Obscura --- 9/10
- Camera-Obscura
- Nov 12, 2006
- Permalink
Psychological masterwork
- Leofwine_draca
- Aug 19, 2016
- Permalink
Haunting and Incredible!
Saw this incredible movie tonight and all I can say is WOW!! This movie is one you should definitely see if you enjoy such quality films like Vertigo, Psycho and most recently Identity. Massive kudos to Christian Bale who turned himself into a skeleton for the role and the wonderfully articulate pace of the director! As you watched it, you knew that there were answers at the end and the journey was simply captivating! Also fine, fine work by Michael Ironside and the absolutely gorgeous Jennifer Jason-Leigh who to this day looks just as hot as she did in Fast Times! If you have a chance to see this film and an open mind, make the trip to the ciniplex! Fantastic film!
Bale at his best.
- haighyboy2009
- May 29, 2012
- Permalink
A new Raskolnikov
A strange story about freedom and guilty. Modern image of "Crime and Punishment". Our life like a shadow of the dreams and fear. Like a research a way of personal truth. No salvation, no cure. Only a refuge in a great lie. This movie is an important experience. Not like a theoretical experience,like a game without value, like a joke. "The Machinist " is a trip in your mind, in your memory, in the life's essence. "I am the other" said Rimbaud. But who? A ghost? A shadow? A body? A toy? The essence of movie is the relation with the world and the form of honesty. The presence of God in this movie is the way of resurrection. The car, the boy, the work accident, Maria, Ivan , Miller are the steps of a very special salvation. And Christian Bale, in his best character, a new Raskolnikov, know to give a great sense of truth to Trevor Reznik. A real master-piece!
Kamikaze Bale
The Machinist was made with Spanish money but had an undoubted international vocation (the cast, the perfect making). The movie it's all about the bad conscience as a weapon of massive destruction of our lives. Not only keeps us awake night over night but also absorbs our whole existence, it fattens up out of our suffering.
The audience will be completely disconcerted for about 80 minutes, because the story, the "whys", the "hows" will show up at the very end of the film in only 2 or 3 minutes. Anyway, the images are powerful enough to get you stuck to your seat.
So The Machinist is a nice thriller in the Lynch way (never as good as the Canadian genius)... but there's something in it that deserves to be underlined: Mr. Christian Bale. What an actor! He's a real kamikaze, just like Lon Chaney, just like De Niro used to be. Bale lost so much weight for the movie that he looks like a living-dead (I guess they didn't need any make-up). Someone who puts in risk his own physique just to build the perfect character can only receive our praises. The rest of the cast shrinks compared with Bale's work, but Jennifer Jason Leigh makes a good job (her typical "living on the edge" role), and Aitana Sánchez Gijón demonstrates she's as good acting in English as she is in Spanish. If you liked "Lost Highway" or "Memento" go and give "The machinist" a chance, you won't repent.
*My rate: 7/10 (20/10 for Bale!)
The audience will be completely disconcerted for about 80 minutes, because the story, the "whys", the "hows" will show up at the very end of the film in only 2 or 3 minutes. Anyway, the images are powerful enough to get you stuck to your seat.
So The Machinist is a nice thriller in the Lynch way (never as good as the Canadian genius)... but there's something in it that deserves to be underlined: Mr. Christian Bale. What an actor! He's a real kamikaze, just like Lon Chaney, just like De Niro used to be. Bale lost so much weight for the movie that he looks like a living-dead (I guess they didn't need any make-up). Someone who puts in risk his own physique just to build the perfect character can only receive our praises. The rest of the cast shrinks compared with Bale's work, but Jennifer Jason Leigh makes a good job (her typical "living on the edge" role), and Aitana Sánchez Gijón demonstrates she's as good acting in English as she is in Spanish. If you liked "Lost Highway" or "Memento" go and give "The machinist" a chance, you won't repent.
*My rate: 7/10 (20/10 for Bale!)
- rainking_es
- Sep 20, 2005
- Permalink
One of the most weird pieces I've seen in a very long time
I were at the local video rental place yesterday with my friend, and this piece caught our attention. It turned out to be a really good choice! After seeing it, I made the conclusion that I had been kind of "stunned" for 85% of the movie, due to that it was really hard to keep up with the story but I did percept that this was the movie's intention to do. The Machinist is a really original movie and if you thought that you liked schizophrenic movies like 'Fight Club', you'll love this one as well.
This piece does easily score 8/10 for me, and I must admit that I was really mentally tired after seeing this. With this movie, it seems that even David Lynch gets a rough time beating this piece in level of weirdness.
This piece does easily score 8/10 for me, and I must admit that I was really mentally tired after seeing this. With this movie, it seems that even David Lynch gets a rough time beating this piece in level of weirdness.
Overrated and unsatisfying besides for Bale
- DarthVoorhees
- Feb 15, 2008
- Permalink
It's a dark and delicious treat
Christian Bale is Trevor Reznik, he has not slept for a year and he is ravaged by exhaustion, his body is little more than bones and his weary mind is playing tricks on him. After a serious accident where his neglect sees a co-worker lose a arm, he becomes haunted by his guilt and he begins to find cryptic notes in his flat, while he is stalked by man, wherever he goes.
Brad Anderson creates and sustains a very creepy and dark Ora throughout the film; filling it with haunting imagery and clever camera work. Christian Bale is simply mesmerising in this role, and he must have starved for months to capture the characters physical appearance. He is excellently supported by Jennifer Jason Leigh, a prostitute who seems to be the only one he can trust.
The Machinist is truly compulsive viewing and despite similarities to the feel of Fight Club and the structure of Memento; this film does stand alone on it's own merits.
8/10
Brad Anderson creates and sustains a very creepy and dark Ora throughout the film; filling it with haunting imagery and clever camera work. Christian Bale is simply mesmerising in this role, and he must have starved for months to capture the characters physical appearance. He is excellently supported by Jennifer Jason Leigh, a prostitute who seems to be the only one he can trust.
The Machinist is truly compulsive viewing and despite similarities to the feel of Fight Club and the structure of Memento; this film does stand alone on it's own merits.
8/10
Vanilla Sky Through Blue Collar Eyes
* * Potential Spoiler Alert * *
Somewhere between Fight Club and Memento lies a film steeped in so many red herrings it beats a Norwegian canary ship any day of the week. However, unlike its maritime equivalents, The Machinist doesn't stink.
It tries, with valiance and fortitude, to rekindle the languid Who the Hell Am I genre, a strand of cinema lurking in the shadows since acceptable Identity of two years ago. To attain this goal, The Machinist spins a gossamer story revolving around Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale), a skeletal city dweller working at one of the anonymous locale's unionized machine shops. As the film opens, we know next to nothing about Trevor, but quickly begin to realize there's something seriously wrong with him, for the man's so thin he's next to non-existent, as several fellow characters so accurately note. In fact, how the hell excellent Bale went from lady killer hunk in American Psycho and Equilibrium to 110 lb stick man remains the movie's mainstay mystery.
Reznik's haunted by an unknown trauma from his past. We fathom this from clues strewn about the plot rather than direct revelation, as well as from observing the lead's interaction with other personas. Soon thereafter, Reznik begins to see things, most vivid of which is Ivan (Marlon Brando-esquire John Sharian), a strange shop co-worker nobody else even knows about. Following a gruesome accident at work in which another of Reznik's colleagues suffers the odd severed hand (good as always Michael Ironside), Trevor proceeds to finally lose it to the point of endangering relationships with the few people who can still tolerate his eccentricity, like golden-hearted prostitute Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), a kind waitress Trevor confides in during his ceaseless bouts with insomnia.
The movie's basic premise brings to mind other entries in the genre, alluding to a crisis of being and questions regarding the very essence of supposed realities. Through Trevor we perhaps shed light on escaping our torrid memories, for he too is always on the verge of discovering some cataclysmic moment in time that changed everything and could account for the many abnormalities he suffers from, such as extreme emaciation and being unable to sleep for over a year. For good or bad, The Machinist concerns itself mostly with throwing non-stop curve balls, for its story is riddled with dead-end head fakes like the notes Trevor leaves himself on a fridge filled with bloody, chopped-up fish and his entirely curious alter-ego who, although gratifying, ends up of little consequence. Likewise, occasional The Wire and The Shield director Brad Anderson went to great pains in pumping proceedings with incessant, clever foreshadowing, both visual and via dialogue. Upon watching the movie again, you'll glean pleasure from giggling at the significance of certain one liners and phrases denoting things to come, yet much like the plot proper they too lead down stray paths.
Stylized and atmospheric with ample accompaniment by eerie sounds capes, The Machinist does work well as a free-from exercise in psychedelic, lyrical anarchy. At its very core lies an almost random progression even less coherent than Trevor's feverish mind, and we're lucky to get the modicum of resolution at the end that it so miserly dishes out. However, and as frustrating as never getting too close to what is "really" going on can be, The Machinist impersonates traditional cinema quite nicely, just like its Catalan locations do a believable job standing in for generic California, and for that kind of pleasantry forgiving it the open-ended enigmas can be a piece of cake.
Rating * * *
Somewhere between Fight Club and Memento lies a film steeped in so many red herrings it beats a Norwegian canary ship any day of the week. However, unlike its maritime equivalents, The Machinist doesn't stink.
It tries, with valiance and fortitude, to rekindle the languid Who the Hell Am I genre, a strand of cinema lurking in the shadows since acceptable Identity of two years ago. To attain this goal, The Machinist spins a gossamer story revolving around Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale), a skeletal city dweller working at one of the anonymous locale's unionized machine shops. As the film opens, we know next to nothing about Trevor, but quickly begin to realize there's something seriously wrong with him, for the man's so thin he's next to non-existent, as several fellow characters so accurately note. In fact, how the hell excellent Bale went from lady killer hunk in American Psycho and Equilibrium to 110 lb stick man remains the movie's mainstay mystery.
Reznik's haunted by an unknown trauma from his past. We fathom this from clues strewn about the plot rather than direct revelation, as well as from observing the lead's interaction with other personas. Soon thereafter, Reznik begins to see things, most vivid of which is Ivan (Marlon Brando-esquire John Sharian), a strange shop co-worker nobody else even knows about. Following a gruesome accident at work in which another of Reznik's colleagues suffers the odd severed hand (good as always Michael Ironside), Trevor proceeds to finally lose it to the point of endangering relationships with the few people who can still tolerate his eccentricity, like golden-hearted prostitute Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), a kind waitress Trevor confides in during his ceaseless bouts with insomnia.
The movie's basic premise brings to mind other entries in the genre, alluding to a crisis of being and questions regarding the very essence of supposed realities. Through Trevor we perhaps shed light on escaping our torrid memories, for he too is always on the verge of discovering some cataclysmic moment in time that changed everything and could account for the many abnormalities he suffers from, such as extreme emaciation and being unable to sleep for over a year. For good or bad, The Machinist concerns itself mostly with throwing non-stop curve balls, for its story is riddled with dead-end head fakes like the notes Trevor leaves himself on a fridge filled with bloody, chopped-up fish and his entirely curious alter-ego who, although gratifying, ends up of little consequence. Likewise, occasional The Wire and The Shield director Brad Anderson went to great pains in pumping proceedings with incessant, clever foreshadowing, both visual and via dialogue. Upon watching the movie again, you'll glean pleasure from giggling at the significance of certain one liners and phrases denoting things to come, yet much like the plot proper they too lead down stray paths.
Stylized and atmospheric with ample accompaniment by eerie sounds capes, The Machinist does work well as a free-from exercise in psychedelic, lyrical anarchy. At its very core lies an almost random progression even less coherent than Trevor's feverish mind, and we're lucky to get the modicum of resolution at the end that it so miserly dishes out. However, and as frustrating as never getting too close to what is "really" going on can be, The Machinist impersonates traditional cinema quite nicely, just like its Catalan locations do a believable job standing in for generic California, and for that kind of pleasantry forgiving it the open-ended enigmas can be a piece of cake.
Rating * * *
Sorry, usual flashback flick with character that doesn't exist.