Review of The Machinist (2004) by Andrew — 17 May 2006
Ignore the haters. The Memento comparisons are warranted, but this is a far superior film. Memento was more of a whodunit disguised as a psychological thriller. This IS a psychological thriller. In Memento (a film I thought was alright, but terribly overrated) you are one step ahead of the protagonist through much of the film and the ending was fairly ho-hum.
The Machinist, on the other hand, really delivers the goods. You are just as lost, confused, and helpless as Christian Bale (doing his best work since American Psycho.) Throughout the movie, I found myself asking the same questions he was asking himself.
Why can't this guy sleep? What's the deal with his mysterious co-worker Ivan? Is he a hallucination? Is this whole thing a hallucination? Why is it always 1:30? Are his co-workers really messing with him or is he just paranoid? How do the hooker and the waitress fit into all of this? The ending is both satisfying and surprising.
You won't see it coming (not entirely, at least) but it fits the plot in a logical way. None of that non-sensical surprise ending crap. This could have become a trainwreck of a movie but Brad Anderson handled it deftly.
Unless you're one of those people who can't take movies where you won't know what the hell is going on most of the time, definatley check this one out. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
If you enjoy this one, check out Session 9 as well. Keep the hits coming Mr. Anderson.
This review of The Machinist (2004) was written by Andrew on 17 May 2006.
The Machinist has generally received very positive reviews.
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