Review of The Machinist (2004) by Vaughan M — 28 Oct 2015

Does anyone remember this film and all the brouhaha around Christian Bale losing tons of weight for the part? Well, I finally got to view it and boy, is he running around in it like a skeleton! I thought this was going to be a straight up drama, but upon hearing that Bernard Hermanesque soundtrack, I realized that someone was amiss.

The man who has not slept for a year, measuring daily his weight loss? Hmmm. It felt apropos for this time of year and I appreciated the spookiness set in a Western looking environment. Sparks flying in the factory in which Trevor Reznik (Bale) works, the emphasis on severed hands, a Bruce Willis plus pounds look a like with an extremely toothy grin and the route 66 house of horrors all combine to make this film an off kilter and engaging thriller.

If investigated too closely, some of the narrative elements, i.e. Trevor's relationship with his mother, don't quite add up logically, but heck, the riding in cars with fateful choices to make keeps the story moving.

Poor Jennifer Jason-Leigh, who has terrific acting chops, is wasted yet again on another hooker with a heart of gold role.