Review of The Machinist (2004) by Dawdlingpoet — 21 Nov 2021

This is really quite a sinister, unsettlinh feeling watch. Its quite atmospheric and does well at making the viewer feel on edge, seeing things from the main characters point of view, making us question his frame of mind and wonder what will ultimately happen. I was very aware of the way the lighting was done, in that it appears as if most things are in either black and white or greyscale, almost as if the colour has been literally drained from the people and objects we view. Of course that can be linked straight back to the main plot of the main character being in a less than refreshed and energetic state.

Christian Bale does well portraying the main character - he certainly looks very much on edge and paranoid, almost ghostlike in appearance after a while, with dark rings appearing around his eyes. I found it to be quite an intriguing, tense and engrossing watch. Its the sort of film where you find yourself guessing what might happen next, whats to come. Its an edgy watch, not entirely scary as such but certainly fairly gritty and probably not an ideal watch if your not keen on (if but mild-ish) jump scares. The music featured had a Hitchcock-ian feel to it - I suppose the film does have a bit of that about it, although thats not to say I'd compare it directly with the classic directors work but for a film of this type, its certainly worth seeing. Unsurprisingly, overall, I would definitely recommend this film.