| THE MACHINIST |
 2004 - SpainDirector: Brad Anderson - Reviewed by Vickie
The story follows Trevor Reznik (Bale), an insomniac who’s literally withering away because he’s gone a year (and counting) without sleep. He lives in a small, barren apartment that is the stuff of nightmares, works as a drill-press operator and seeks the occasional bit of comfort in the arms of a prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh, in yet another role where she goes topless) or at an airport deli, where he chats with the friendly waitress behind the counter (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón). Life goes from bad to worse when mysterious Post-It notes with cryptic messages start appearing on Trevor’s fridge, right about the time that a beefy, bald and menacing figure starts appearing all over town. Trevor’s already tenuous grip on reality starts to weaken and he begins to suspect he’s being targeted. But by whom? And why? And for what? The film has a superbly surreal look, with much of the film shot in varying shades of grey and blue so that it creates an icy, cold, steely atmosphere. Everything looks dirty and old and rotted, and that suits the story perfectly. Physical appearance aside, Bale also does a nice job of presenting a mentally tortured soul who may or may not be having a complete nervous breakdown. But the film left me unsatisfied as a whole. As the closing credits rolled, I didn’t think “wow!”, but “oh.” Like many other films in the thriller genre, The Machinist does a good job of setting up the story and building a mystery for the audience (and the characters) to solve, but winds up limping through its final scenes in a much less exciting way. I guessed the outcome about halfway through the film and was kind of disappointed that I was right. I got the feeling that The Machinist wanted to be the next Memento, but it wasn’t. It was good, just not great. Maybe my expectations were too high (because I was really looking forward to this one) or maybe I was just too distracted by wanting Christian Bale to have a sandwich and wound up missing the nuances of the story, but I wanted more from The Machinist than it gave me. If I could have felt good giving it six or seven slices, I would have. I wanted to. I really did. But I can’t, so I didn’t. |
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actor undergo a physical transformation
as astounding or disturbing as the one Christian Bale undergoes in this
dark, dank and dreary thriller. He’s absolutely unrecognizable and so
frightfully emaciated that I kept thinking, “Surely that’s not safe.
Surely he’s done some kind of irreparable damage to himself.” He’s
nothing but skin and bones. You can actually see each of his ribs and
every single one of his vertebrae. For this metamorphosis alone, The
Machinist gets two slices right off the bat.
