Review of The Machinist (2004) by Stevenf — 19 Sep 2013

What we have here is a disturbing, distracting but important thriller which explores the boundaries and broken states of not only the human body, but the mind as well, powerful as it is, it can also deceive to the point of self-destruction and doubt of oneself. Christian Bale is the almost unrecognisable lead in this sombre and dark piece, he plays a machine worker in a factory by day, and sits in an empty airport cafe by night, trying to overcome his year long insomnia. When we meet him, he seems to be in an unhealthy yet manageable state, going about his life, but Bale cuts a gaunt and sunken figure, losing extreme amounts of weight to play the part if routine worker Trevor Reznik, a man who alienates his co-workers and does the exact same thing day in and day out, until something shakes his routine and he begins to experience horrific events that he cannot explain nor can he piece together. He turns to a call girl called Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the only real friend he has, to get a second opinion on his dilemma.

The Machinist studies the effects of traumatic events and how one can choose to repress and forget, Reznik is an emaciated yet focused individual, living a life by black and white rules while also trying to keep on top of everything through sticky notes and cleanliness. While the film studies the emotional impact and aftermath of life-changing events, it often tries to hard to hide its predictable plot which begins to unfold, this definitely distracts what could have been a near flawless thriller, but the deliberate attempts to mask the unwinding story and the distracting appearance of Bale at a mere 121 pounds stop this from happening. But there is still a thrilling story and an excellent performance from Bale, who clearly throws himself into his work and commits to the experience, there are of course arguments about how much actors and actresses get paid, but this is a prime example of money well spent, while harmful to himself, Bale proves his loyalty and willingness to his work, the performance outweighs the sombre and often slow paced film, it has an overall decent approach, but inconsistencies and deliberate out of focus points towards the audience, stop it from being truly great.