6/28/2005: Views: The Machinist
The Machinist 2004, dir. Brad Anderson
Trevor Reznik is not having a good week.
He's forgotten to pay his electric bill; there's a new guy at work with a mysterious and almost ominous, threatening vibe about him; and he's involved in a grisly industrial accident at his machine shop job.
And oh yea, he hasn't slept in a year.
It's very difficult to say too much about this movie without giving up any spoilers. So much of it is about the ride itself, watching Trevor's life and sanity unravel and wondering why, and then taking inventory of all the puzzle pieces and clues we've gathered with him once we reach the end. It's a very well crafted story and one that's filmed carefully with meticulous attention to detail, a very effective surreal tone, and an overall darkness that work well.
One of the things that makes The Machinist work so well is Christian Bale. He lost an astounding 63 pounds to play Trevor, who's described in the script as a "walking skeleton" - something that Bale achieved alarmingly well.. so well that he's gone right past emaciated and straight to bonebag. His appearance is freakish and highly disturbing. Not to mention his superb acting job.
The man is clearly deteriorating before our eyes, physically and mentally, and we tag along as he tries to figure out why, sometimes ahead of him and sometimes behind. Serious sleep dep will do a major number on your head - I know this from experience - and this movie illustrates the accompanying hallucinations and paranoia very well, including the way they layer themselves and integrate with "reality".
Director Brad Anderson and writer Scott Kosar pay homage to Hitchcock, Dostoevsky, Serling, Kafka, and the entire film noir genre in this one, and they create a psychological thriller with a slow and even pace that adds an eerieness not found in its quick-cut action peers. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, and John Sharian each make strong contributions but it's Bale's brilliant performance that really makes this one work.
DVD extras include deleted scenes, an audio commentary track by Anderson (Bale is noticeably and sadly absent, I guess he was off being Batman), and a "Making Of" that points out some of the hurdles they faced shooting in Barcelona and trying to make it look like California. Personally I think many of the locations still have a European look and feel to them which adds a lot to the surrealness of the film, and fewer big name stars required by a relatively low budget is always a plus for telling a good story.
Try to see The Machinist without learning its story first - it will make watching it a lot more fun.
Christian Bale, John Sharian, and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón:
