The Machinist

"The Machinist" demonstrates that "Session 9" wasn't the only creepy thriller that Brad Anderson could do.

While M. Night Shyamalan and commercial fare like "The Grudge" get the attention and the big bucks, Anderson is quietly mastering disturbing, psychologically scary shockers. While the previous movie took advantage of our imaginations leaping around a spooky environment, "The Machinist" makes our discomfort palpably visual in Christian Bale's painful to look at body, as his character is ravaged by insomnia and loss of appetite; by the end of the movie it's shocking to see his normally handsome face.

But all the focus on his astounding weight loss takes away from the other elements in the almost black and white film that make it a scare fest. The movie establishes "The Twilight Zone" mood immediately with the soundtrack, which includes generous use of the theremin, as Hitchcock did in "Psycho." The production design is excellent at supporting the mood.

The suspense builds and is sustained through to the satisfying conclusion as you genuinely get involved in Bale's efforts to solve the increasingly mysterious happenings around him. Even though you are pretty sure he could be hallucinating, you are intrigued to figure out the trigger.

Despite looking like a caricature of a Holocaust victim, Bale creates a full character, from the jocular male camaraderie of the factory where he doesn't quite seem to fit in to responding one beat off to the warmth of the two women in his life, a waitress and a prostitute with the an open heart of gold (played, as usual by Jennifer Jason Leigh, but effectively languid).

The Machinist is an instant classic.

A riveting descent into madness with Christian Bale bringing his A game. Bale wastes himself away to 120 lbs of a haunting and creepy shell of a man both visually disturbing and compelling. The story ambles along laden with foreshadowing and clues keeping the viewer involved in the mystery.

Not much needs to be said except "Brilliant." Well constructed and nuanced atmospheric film that will be viewed 50 years from now and not lose anything; maybe only to be elevated as an example of filmmaking at its best.

It's easy to draw a parallel to Hitchcock; but maybe it is closer to the truth that The Machinist is a movie that he would have evolved to make if he had lived longer. Hitchcock would have been fascinated by Bale and his extreme dedication to his craft. My imagination takes me away to a place where Hitchcock has just finished watching The Machinist and feels just a small pang of envy...followed by an immediate call to Bale's agent for casting in his next movie. If wishes were horses...

I were at the local video rental place yesterday with my friend, and this piece caught our attention. It turned out to be a really good choice! After seeing it, I made the conclusion that I had been kind of "stunned" for 85% of the movie, due to that it was really hard to keep up with the story but I did percept that this was the movie's intention to do. The Machinist is a really original movie and if you thought that you liked schizophrenic movies like 'Fight Club', you'll love this one as well.

This piece does easily score 8/10 for me, and I must admit that I was really mentally tired after seeing this. With this movie, it seems that even David Lynch gets a rough time beating this piece in level of weirdness.

Saw this incredible movie tonight and all I can say is WOW!! This movie is one you should definitely see if you enjoy such quality films like Vertigo, Psycho and most recently Identity. Massive kudos to Christian Bale who turned himself into a skeleton for the role and the wonderfully articulate pace of the director! As you watched it, you knew that there were answers at the end and the journey was simply captivating! Also fine, fine work by Michael Ironside and the absolutely gorgeous Jennifer Jason-Leigh who to this day looks just as hot as she did in Fast Times! If you have a chance to see this film and an open mind, make the trip to the ciniplex! Fantastic film!

There are many good things about The Machinist that are well deserving of praise. The very atmospheric nature of the film is supported very strongly by excellent performances all around. Christian Bale takes things to the extreme in his embodiment of his character. It is hard to take seeing him in his near-starvation body mass, which elevates the tension of this piece even further. The storyline leaves a little to be desired. While it creates its mood excellently, it does tend to plod along a little too much.

One thing that does stand out is how reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock this film plays. Almost everything about the film screams Hitchcock, from the editing of certain scenes (the driving sequences are very much in the style of Psycho) to the Bernard Herrmann-esquire score (lots of bass clarinet), the lack of fully-exploring/revealing some of the creepier points of the film (what is dripping from the fridge?), and the washed out, grainy photography. If you want to see what a film would look like if Hitchcock were alive to film it today, this is the closest thing you could probably come across. And if that was part of Brad Anderson's intention in directing this, I have to commend him on the execution because it is uncanny.

Overall, I would recommend this film, but not to casual movie-goers. This is very much a movie-phile experience for those who appreciate character development and cinematography as much as plot points and a storyline that can be defined and followed from one action to the next. In that way it is closer to films like Magnolia or the Others, where the apex is the characters. If you are looking for a typical popcorn Hollywood thriller, this is not what you are looking for.